Jim Rosapepe 2,685 votes 59%
John Giannetti 1,729 votes 38%
College Park candidates were on the verge of taking an unprecedented number of Democratic nominations in state and county seats last night, as primary results pointed toward several decisive victories.
Two delegate seats remained hotly contested at press time, with two College Park residents maintaining slim leads over Laurel incumbent Del. Brian Moe, with 54 percent of precincts reporting.
City resident and former regent Jim Rosapepe was well on his way to a landslide victory over incumbent state Sen. John Giannetti, however, and declared victory before 100 supporters at The Greene Turtle in Laurel last night.
“We wont have the results until tomorrow, but the good news is I’ve defeated John Giannetti,” Rosapepe said, throwing his arms in the air and flashing the crowd a thumbs-up.
“I was always pretty confident,” Rosapepe said in an interview after the speech. “I think people wanted better representation in the district.”
College Park City Councilwoman Joseline Peña-Melnyk bolted forward with an early lead over incumbent candidates vying for the House of Delegates primary, despite her absence on incumbents’ slates. As of press time, she trailed leading candidate and incumbent Del. Barbara Frush by less than a percentage point, with 54 percent of Prince George’s precincts reporting.
College Park resident Ben Barnes was trailing Peña-Melnyk by less than a percentage point at press time, and Del. Brian Moe was behind by more than two in Prince George’s.
Peña-Melnyk, a city councilwoman, declined to comment until the final votes were tallied, saying only that the results were better than what she anticipated.The top three vote-getters in the delegate race will be declared winners, with a single seat left open by vacating Del. Pauline Menes. No Republicans are expected to mount a serious challenge in the general election for any Prince George’s County or District 21 seats.
A win for a number of College Park residents could give the city unprecedented representation in state and local government, and city officials hope it will bring increased focus to issues such as Route 1 redevelopment, mass transportation projects and area crime rates that have long-plagued the area.
If Barnes and Peña-Melnyk manage to unseat Moe, it would be highly uncharacteristic of Maryland elections, which tend to heavily favor incumbents.
“I would not say it’s an empty victory, but if Brian Moe loses, District 21 will miss out on his leadership,” Barnes said of beating his teammate. “If Joseline ends up winning and I win, I will work very hard on behalf of the 21st District.”
A seemingly dejected Moe hadn’t lost all hope as his numbers came in at a slower rate than anticipated.
“I’m relatively shocked,” Moe said. “I certainly thought I’d be doing better with the numbers. I’m going to be optimistic, we’ll see where we go from here.”
District 21’s state delegate race has been extremely tight throughout the year, with a large number of candidates, many with diverse political backgrounds, vying for the single seat.
The Rosapepe-Giannetti battle was equally contentious – and sometimes nasty, some observers said – though constituents did not seem to hold negativity against candidates in casting their ballots.
Unofficial election results declared Rosapepe’s victory by 9:45 p.m., after reports showed Giannetti lost Beltsville and Calverton Elementary Schools, two precincts Giannetti deemed necessary for grabbing the win.
Reports confirming Rosapepe’s sweep were released periodically and the former regent led by more than 23 points by press time.
Giannetti had created an elaborate 10-foot-tall white board depicting each precinct and the number of voters earned by each candidate in that precinct as the vote counts were announced, as the sleep-deprived incumbent stood as pollsters called results in from precincts across the district.
He finally sat down when the realization set in that his re-election had been lost – a fact incumbents rarely face. Ironically, however, Giannetti unseated incumbent 37-year legislator Arthur Dorman four years ago to take the seat he now occupies.
Giannetti’s father, John Sr., who comforted his son as the loss set in, expressed dismay at last night’s apparent loss.
“I’m naturally disappointed,” said his father. “A lot of good and successful politicians lost races.”
Both Giannetti Jr. and Sr. drew parallels between the Giannetti and past politicians who had endured political struggle, namely U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer and former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.
At the Greene Turtle, Rosapepe’s slate coordinator Ruth Cox, seen by many as the architect behind the Rospepe’s success, restrained her excitement as she began to realize Rosapepe’s win was a foregone conclusion.
“We’ve been working hard since April 16, and I’ve had maybe 10 days off,” Cox said. “Hard work always pays off, but it feels good to win.”
Staff writers Brendan Lowe, Owen Praskievicz and Kelly Whittaker contributed to this report. Contact reporter Steven Overly at overlydbk@gmail.com.
