Ivan Bates holds 9-point lead in Baltimore state's attorney race
BALTIMORE -- In the rematch for Baltimore City State's Attorney, Ivan Bates, a former prosecutor and defense attorney, holds a 9-point advantage over incumbent Marilyn Mosby and former federal and state prosecutor Thiru Vignarajah.
The same three candidates faced off in 2018. Bates finished second to Mosby.
As of 3:46 a.m. Wednesday, Bates leads by more than 4,100 votes. About 95% of precincts in the city have reported, and more than 13,000 early votes have been counted, according to the state board of elections.
As the vote tallies come in, Bates told WJZ's Stetson Miller he's feeling confident.
Current primary election results show Baltimore state’s attorney candidate Ivan Bates with the lead right now. We spoke with him a little bit ago at his election night watch party and he told us he’s feeling very happy and confident @wjz pic.twitter.com/X98gJyesow
— Stetson Miller (@stetsonmreports) July 20, 2022
Mosby told supporters she will fight until all the votes are counted.
Mosby concludes remarks saying she'll fight until all the votes are counted and wants supporters to have fun tonight. The party started at 8. It's almost midnight.
— Paul Gessler (@PaulGessler) July 20, 2022
Earlier Tuesday, Bates said the 2022 race is different from the one he ran in 2018.
"It's the same candidates but a different race," he said. "Crime is absolutely out of control and when I talk to the voters, and the voters they want change."
Mosby won by a wide margin four years ago, collecting just below 50% of the vote. This year, she has the cloud of a federal case hanging over her.
Earlier this year, federal authorities charged Mosby with perjury and falsifying information on a mortgage application.
She has pleaded not guilty to those federal charges.
Mosby has spent her campaign touting her record of freeing those falsely accused and how her office is no longer prosecuting certain low-level, nonviolent offenses.
"My record speaks for itself," she said. "We have to continue to change lives and make America live up to its ideals of justice and equality for everybody. That's what this election is all about. Whether you're going to continue to move forward or move backwards."
Vignarajah believes that he is in a different place than he was in previous races and that more people recognize his name.
"Four years ago, I was a complete rookie with no name recognition, that nobody had ever heard of before," he said.
Vignarajah is campaigning on a platform pledge to reduce Baltimore's homicide rate.
He promises to achieve that goal quickly.
"We had murders below 200. It didn't require mass incarceration or zero tolerance," he said. "It required smart strategies, common sense policing and prosecution strategies."
Important disclaimer: Many votes are still outstanding, particularly mail-in ballots.
Elections officials caution not to expect results in some races for weeks. By law, local elections officials cannot open mail-in ballots until Thursday.
As of July 18, state elections officials reported receiving 213,019 mail-in ballots, including 21,813 from Baltimore City.