Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby won her primary--and re-election--last night in one of the most contentious races in city history with nearly 50 percent of the vote.
In the closing days of the campaign, Mosby accused her opponents, Ivan Bates, a former prosecutor turned defense lawyer, and Thiru Vignarajah, another former prosecutor turned corporate lawyer, of spreading false information about her.
Bates threatened to sue Mosby and Vignarajah, charging that they had defamed him.
And Bates and Vignarajah repeatedly accused each other of lying during an appearance on WYPR’s Midday.
But at her victory party, Mosby ignored her opponents. She thanked God, quoting Paul’s letter to the Romans--“If God is for you, who can be against you”—her husband, Delegate Nick Mosby, and her two daughters for their support.
“Lord knows that through the past three and a half years, we’ve gone through unprecedented challenges,” she said. “And then my husband has been more than my rock, he’s been my glue.”
The challenges came in the wake of the death of Freddie Gray in police custody in 2015, the unrest that followed and her decision to indict the six officers involved, all attracting national attention. And although she wound up dropping all charges, Mosby, who has no opposition in the General Election, said the events showed Baltimore’s resilience.
“Collectively in the face of chaos, we’ve proven that we can do anything,” she said.
Mosby had endorsements from at least 30 Baltimore City elected officials, more than 60 faith leaders, three former Baltimore City State’s Attorneys, and Congressman Elijah Cummings.
“Citizens believe in our vision and believe that we are the right team to make Baltimore safer, to implement the reforms we so desperately need to the criminal justice system,” she told the crowd at Melba’s Place on Greenmount Avenue. “And we have made progress. But we understand and we recognize that we still have so much more to do.”
Mosby said Vignarajah had called her to concede, but neither he nor Bates could be reached for comment.
