The Talbot County Council race has been shaken up with the count of mail-in votes, bumping conservative Republican Frank Gunsallus out of the running and putting
Democrat nurse-practitioner Susan DeLean Botkin on the unofficial winners list.
Currently, the standing make-up of the council would be three Republican and two Democratic winners.
DeLean-Botkin garnered 2,356 mail-in votes in post-election counting, vaulting her to 3rd place among the five top vote-getters. Gunsallus received only 886. Other winners as of the current count are Pete Lesher, a Democrat, and Republicans Chuck Callahan, Dave Stepp and Wade Strickland.
Delean-Botkin told Radio Chesapeake in an interview earlier in the campaign that she shared voters’ concerns about rising rents and mortgage interest, healthcare shortages, food accessibility and other pressures on Talbot residents.
On a Facebook post, Gunsallus told supporters that there are two days left for counting provisional ballots, but he said his chance of getting enough votes to regain 5th place was slim.
"We need nothing short of a miracle to get into 5th place. But I’m very honored to have made it this far and to have met so many wonderful people and at this point give glory to God for giving me the strength and perseverence to get to this point,” Gusallus said.
Gunsallus ran on promises of reducing taxes and banning data centers and cameras that track license plates. He raised more campaign money than any other candidate in Talbot, over $30,000. Most of his contributions came from developers and associated businesses.