Following a recount, the Montgomery County Board of Elections certified Marc Elrich as the winner of the Democratic primary for County Executive today. 

More than a month after the Primary Election, the incumbent officially prevailed against Potomac-based businessman and two-time rival David Blair.

After a preliminary count of 35 votes separated the two, Blair requested a recount last week. The recount, which was certified at about 4 p.m., narrowed the gap to 32 votes.

In a statement released shortly after, Blair said he called Elrich to concede and added that  he is proud of his campaign for spotlighting issues such as “early childhood education, career readiness, environmental progress, affordable housing, economic development, [and] public safety.”

In a statement Elrich said he is excited to work to elect Democratic gubernatorial nominee Wes Moore and the entire Democratic ticket in the coming months and looks forward to continuing to “make Montgomery County as vibrant, successful and equitable as possible.”

The tumultuous election was further complicated by the discovery of 102 uncounted provisional ballots during a precertification audit on Aug. 11

In light of the weeks-long wait to certify these results, the state Board of Elections announced last week that it voted unanimously to file an emergency petition in a circuit court to challenge a measure that prevents mail-in ballots from being processed until two days after Election Day. Earlier this year, Gov. Larry Hogan vetoed a bill  that would have ended the practice.

Elrich and Blair faced off once before in 2018 when the two led a crowded field of Democrats during the first County Executive primary. In that race, Elrich beat Blair by 77 votes.

Elrich will face Reardon Sullivan, the former chair of the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee, in the General Election in November.