Franchot, Perez split over Moore's projected win in Maryland gubernatorial primary
BALTIMORE -- While Peter Franchot on Friday conceded the Democratic nomination in Maryland's gubernatorial race to Wes Moore, Tom Perez's campaign is saying not so fast--it's still too close to call.
CBS News projected Friday that Moore won the Democratic nomination for governor, with about 35% of the vote as of Friday afternoon with 70% of districts reporting.
Moore currently outpaces Perez and Franchot by about 7 points and 14 points, respectively.
Franchot, Maryland's comptroller, congratulated Moore Friday afternoon and called on Marylanders to support Moore.
"With voting rights, Roe v. Wade, health care, common sense gun control, climate change and economic stability being key issues of this moment, it is vital that Marylanders come together to elect a Democrat to be the next governor," Franchot said in a statement.
Perez's campaign says it's still too early to call the race, with as 80,000 votes left to be counted in Montgomery County, where Perez is ahead of Moore by 22 points. He's also making gains as mail-in ballots are counted.
"Yesterday was the first day of counting for the 212,962 recorded and received vote-by-mail ballots and it was a huge day for Tom Perez," campaign manager Sean Downey said Friday.
WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren said the Associated Press, which routinely calls races, echoed Perez's campaign.
An advisory from the Associated Press says the Maryland Democratic primary is too close to call and cited the large number of outstanding votes in Montgomery County where Perez leads Moore by 22% @wjz
— Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) July 22, 2022