Howard County primary results point toward historic firsts — including the county’s first Black woman executive
With Tuesday’s Democratic primary win, Vanessa Atterbeary is poised to become the first Black woman to be elected Howard County executive. Her win was among several firsts for the county government.
Kevin Chin, of Ellicott City, is the presumed winner of the District 1 race, after receiving 2,376 votes as of Wednesday. The emergency room physician had an edge over the other two District 1 candidates, James Handley and Jean Xu, and would be the first Asian American to serve on the County Council.
In District 2, Jessica Nichols’ win would make her the first Black and Latina woman to be elected to the Howard County Council. The Elkridge resident, who was named 2024 Howard County Teacher of the Year, works at River Hill High School, and won her race by nearly 1,400 votes, according to unofficial results posted by the Maryland State Board of Elections.
Atterbeary, who served as a state delegate for nearly 11 years, maintained a large lead over her three opponents throughout Tuesday, as returns came in.