ANALYSIS OF COX, MOORE DEBATE: Both Democratic gubernatorial nominee Wes Moore and Republican nominee Dan Cox clashed on key issues important to voters earlier this week, firing harsh accusations against one another that, in some cases, an 11 News I-Team fact check has found were misleading or false. David Collins/WBAL
- All in all, Moore clearly won on style and substance, a rhetoric professor weighs in. With fairer and less politically committed questioners, it could have been closer, says Richard Vatz/MarylandReporter.com
- Voters watching the only gubernatorial debate Wednesday night may have missed Del. Dan Cox’s acknowledgement of an electoral math problem. “It doesn’t matter how robust Republican turnout is,” said Mileah Kromer, a political science professor and director of the Goucher Poll. “There isn’t a reality where you can win without having at least 25% of Democrats. That’s the low end. That’s just the math.” Bryan Sears/The Daily Record
- Maryland Matters has some more debate analysis.
- Watch full debate or parts of it on Maryland Public TV website.
COX-BACKING VOTER INTEGRITY GROUP PLANNING HAND COUNT OF BALLOTS: A group of Maryland voters aligned with Republican gubernatorial nominee Dan Cox’s campaign plans on challenging the legitimacy of ballots across the state immediately after Election Day. The group Voter Integrity is recruiting volunteers to hand count paper ballots out of a fear the ballot-scanning machines are not scanning them properly. Sam Janesch/The Baltimore Sun
DRIVERS CHARGED UP OVER ELECTRIC VEHICLE COMMENTS: Drivers FOX 45 spoke with this week reacted to comments at the gubernatorial debate about electric vehicles. They say even if they wanted to switch to electric, the cost alone is driving them in another direction. Rebecca Pryor/WBFF
STATE AGENCIES HIT HARD IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCORECARD: An environmental justice center at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Health has issued a highly-critical “scorecard” grading nine state agencies on their practices and policies for protecting the environment and prioritizing services to communities disproportionately harmed by environmental racism. Aman Azhar/Baltimore Banner
PERSONNEL ISSUES CAUSED MoCo PLANNING BOARD RESIGNATION: Montgomery County Council members decided to fire the county’s entire planning board when seemingly fleeting personnel issues escalated within weeks, deepening fault lines that impeded the board’s ability to work together, the council’s president said Thursday. Katherine Shaver and Daniel Wu/Washington Post
BALT. SCHOOLS PLANNING RENOVATIONS, INCLUDING AC, FOR OLD BUILDINGS: Major renovations costing $400 million are planned over the next few years for some of the oldest school buildings in Baltimore City Public Schools. The district plans to renovate three buildings that house five schools, bringing them A/C and heat. This has been a hotly debated topic at the state level, with leaders calling for city schools to modernize buildings so students can learn. Zshekinah Collier/WYPR
PROFILING JESSICA HAIRE: As a lawyer and an engineer, Republican nominee for Anne Arundel Executive Jessica Haire has been honing her problem solving skills for years by helping companies solve expensive security and safety problems and settling disagreements as a lawyer. But she’s also a mom and advocate for the community, an in-depth profile describes. Dana Munroe/Capital Gazette
SIXTH DISTRICT CANDIDATE SURVEY RESPONSES: The USA TODAY Network in Maryland sent questionnaires to the Republican and Democrat seeking to represent the 6th district in Congress. Dwight Weingarten/Hagerstown Herald-Mail
SIXTH DISTRICT CONGRESSMAN TOUTS INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING: Last week, Congressman David Trone (D) announced that the Maryland Department of Transportation’s draft capital budget plan includes vital funding to address his top infrastructure priorities across Maryland’s Sixth District. Staff/Garrett County Republican
MAIL-IN BALLOT COUNT TO START IN FREDERICK COUNTY: Canvassers with the Frederick County Board of Elections are expected to begin counting mail-in ballots on Monday, with close to 4,000 ballots expected to be in the hands of elections officials. Jack Hogan/Frederick News-Post