By Greg Bassett

District 37 challenger Johnny Mautz held a massive Election Day lead over incumbent Addie Eckardt, a fellow Republican.

Meanwhile, in the closely watched Republican battle for the House of Delegates District 37B seat, Chris Adams and Tom Hutchison held a lead over fellow Republican Nicole Acle of Salisbury and Ron James of Rhodesdale.

District 37 includes portions of Wicomico County, and all of Dorchester, Caroline and Talbot counties.

Only two Republicans are in the state Senate race, which means Tuesday’s official winner will capture the seat.

Mautz has 8,944 votes to Eckardt’s 2,701 votes.

Eckardt, who was elected to the Maryland Senate in 2014, trailed Mautz badly as returns were coming in Tuesday night.

A member of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee. Eckardt was first elected in 1994 to the House of Delegates, representing District 37B.

Mautz grew up in St. Michaels and Easton before graduating from the University of Dayton in 1994 and Ohio Northern University Law School in 1997. He and his family own and operate the Carpenter Street Saloon in St. Michaels.

He previously worked as a legislative lawyer for the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. He was first elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2018 and is a longtime member of the House Economic Matters Committee.

On the Democratic side, Naomi Hyman of Easton was unopposed, but received 5,137 votes.

Mail-in ballots will have to be counted this week and possibly next to determine a winner.

District 37B

Adams and Hutchison were holding solid leads over Acle – who was expected to mount a close challenge – as early voting numbers were announced.

Adams had 5,498 votes, with Hutchison following with 5,214 votes. Acle had 3,828 votes.

Incumbent Adams, a Salisbury business owner, is seeking a third term, having first been elected in 2014. Born in Salisbury, he attended Wicomico Senior High School and received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Business from Salisbury University. He is a member of the House Economic Matters Committee.

Hutchison, who lives in Woolford, is a small-business owner known for his redevelopment work with Cambridge Main Street.

He and Adams had announced they were running as a political team, as two delegates represent the sprawling district.

District 37B includes the western portion of Wicomico County, portions of Dorchester and Caroline counties, and all of Talbot County. Of four GOP contenders, two will advance, but no county can have more than one winner.

A fourth Republican, James of Rhodesdale, was running far back in fourth place, with 1,262 votes.

Democrat Susan Delean-Botkin of Oxford is the lone candidate for her party and automatically advances to the November election. She received 3,714 votes.

Acle, who was running third as of late Tuesday, was appointed to an open Wicomico County Council District 2 seat in 2019 and won a special election in 2020.

State Senate District 38

District 38 includes portions of Wicomico County, and all of Worcester and Somerset counties.

Republican incumbent Mary Beth Carozza of Ocean City and Democratic challenger Michele Gregory of Salisbury were the sole candidates and automatically advance to the November election.

Based on votes counted by late Tuesday, Carozza had 7,283 votes in her primary; Gregory had 2,599 votes in the Democratic contest.

District 37A

District 37A is the minority-majority district and includes portions of Wicomico, Caroline and Dorchester counties.

Incumbent Democrat Sheree Sample Hughes is the lone candidate and automatically advances to the November election.

District 38A

District 38 includes a small portion of southern Wicomico County, a large section of Worcester County and all of Somerset County.

Incumbent Republican Charles Otto of Princess Anne and Democratic challenger Todd J. Nock of Pocomoke City are the sole candidates and automatically advance to the November election.

District 38B

District 38B includes north Wicomico County and the municipalities of Salisbury and Delmar.

Incumbent Republican Carl Anderton of Delmar is the lone candidate and automatically advances to the November election.

District 38C

District 38C includes eastern Wicomico County and a section of Worcester County, including Ocean City and Ocean Pines.

Incumbent Republican Wayne A. Hartman is the lone candidate and automatically advances to the November election.