Will there be a new Baltimore mayor? Brandon Scott, Sheila Dixon stump for votes day before primaries
BALTIMORE - Will Brandon Scott remain Baltimore's mayor or will one of his challengers assume the role?
Baltimore City voters will decide on Tuesday whether a new mayor will be elected.
Scott and his top challenger Sheila Dixon, a former Baltimore mayor, projected confidence the day before Maryland's Primary Election.
Approximately 1,600 Baltimore voters cast their ballots during the early voting period.
Others dropped off mail-in ballots throughout the city.
Early voting numbers, so far, are lagging, but candidates hope their supporters show up on Tuesday.
Familiar mayoral candidates
Scott seeks re-election and Dixon vies to return to City Hall.
"I don't want to go to the past either. I want to move forward," Dixon told WJZ.
The mayoral candidates made their election eve-pitches to voters on Monday.
"Now, we've seen a historic reduction in homicides," Scott said. "We've led through the pandemic. We're at our lowest unemployment ever."
In a Goucher Poll taken in early April, 40% of likely voters said they would re-elect Scott, while 32% said they would vote for Dixon.
Attorney Thiru Vignarajah polled at 11%, but earlier this month, he dropped out of the race endorsed Dixon. He made a pitch on Monday for his supporters to get behind the former mayor.
"It's striking to me to see Brandon Scott's hubris and Sheila Dixon's humility," Vignarajah said.
Businessman Bob Wallace polled fourth in that Goucher Poll. He said he hopes he can build on his support from 2020 when he got 20% of the vote as an Independent candidate.
"Ms. Dixon or Mr. Scott, do they deserve, in your mind, a second term? If you think they do, then you should vote for them," Wallace said.
Getting some support
The leading contenders had supporters on city council stump for them on Monday.
"Mayor Brandon Scott, everything he's doing is from his heart, and I can attest to that," said councilmember Sharon Green Middleton.
"(Sheila Dixon) has the demonstrable track record of reducing crime and making city agencies work for every single neighborhood," councilmember Eric Costello said.
With early voting numbers down, Scott and Dixon are confident their supporters will hit the polls on Election Day.
"We think people are going to come out and we know there are a lot of mail-in ballots that are going to be coming in," Scott said. "Tomorrow, we want folks to come out and exercise their right to vote and do the right thing."
"Yes, I want them to vote for me, sure," Dixon said. "But, they have to get out and vote because that one vote can make the impact and the difference in an election."
Here's what you need to know about Tuesday's Primary Election Day.
