By Adam Pagnucco.
Using U.S. Census data employed by the county council in its redistricting process, I was able to generate lists of the 25 precincts with the largest concentrations of Asian, Black, Latino and White voters in the county. Let’s see how bullet voting in the council at-large race proceeded in those precincts.
The top 25 Asian precincts were located in Clarksburg (6 precincts), Potomac (5), Rockville (5), Germantown (3), North Potomac (3), Gaithersburg (2) and Boyds (1). David Blair led Marc Elrich in these precincts in the county executive primary by ten points.
The top 25 Black precincts were located in Silver Spring East County (11 precincts), Silver Spring Downtown (7), Glenmont/Norbeck (3), Wheaton (2), Burtonsville (1) and Takoma Park (1). Elrich led Blair in these precincts by ten points.
The top 25 Latino precincts were located in Gaithersburg (8 precincts), Glenmont/Norbeck (7), Rockville (3), Montgomery Village (2), Silver Spring Downtown (2), Wheaton (2) and Germantown (1). Elrich led Blair in these precincts by six points.
The top 25 White precincts were located in Bethesda (6 precincts), Chevy Chase (5), Gaithersburg (2), Kensington (2), Leisure World (2), Poolesville (2), Dickerson (1), Olney (1), Rockville (1), Silver Spring East County (1), Washington Grove (1) and Wheaton (1). Blair led Elrich in these precincts by six points.
Conclusion
Will Jawando is the reigning king of bullet voters. He not only led in bullet voting in the places where you would expect it, like Silver Spring East County and heavily Black precincts. He also led in bullet voting in heavily Latino precincts and came in second in heavily White precincts. The absolute number of bullet voters may be small, but this pattern suggests a level of intensity among Jawando’s supporters that could be a major advantage for him in a one-seat race.
Scott Goldberg also deserves attention. He was first in bullet voting in Bethesda, Leisure World, Potomac, Rockville, heavily Asian precincts and heavily White precincts and second in Chevy Chase and Wheaton. The latter may be due to Kemp Mill, a heavily Jewish area near University and Arcola. This mirrors the strength of his candidacy in the southwest part of the county. If Goldberg wants to be elected in the future, his best move would be to move to Andrew Friedson’s district if/when Friedson runs for higher office.