Results of the 2020 Takoma Park Election Contest
All hail Ward 6 resident Peggy Walker, winner of the 2020 Takoma Park election contest!
Peggy’s predictions versus actuals:
- Mayor: Kate Stewart 63%, Roger Schlegel 37% — spot on! — 63.2% to 36.8%
- Ward 3: Kacy Kostiuk 72%, Olly Swyers 28% — 67.23% to 32.77%
- Ward 5: Jarrett Smith 68%, Sawa Kamara 32% — 63.95% to 36.05%
(Certified election results are posted at https://takomaparkmd.gov/
Peggy predicted 5,329 ballots cast versus 6,549 actual. Her overall score was 23 — low is good — based on how far she was off in each contested race plus how accurate she was in predicting the number of votes, total and in each ward. (All entries were submitted before the Board of Elections started posting vote totals.)
In second through fifth places, out of 26 entries:
- Seth Grimes, score 27
- Alan Zibel, score 28
- Sara Hoverter, score 31
- Eric Saul, score 33
Best predictions by category were:
- Mayor: Peggy Walker, Sophie Bethune (64-36), and Sean Tipton, Keith Berner, and Lauren Van Tol (65-35) — actual was 63.2% to 36.8%
- Ward 3: Lucas Taratus (67-33), Kara Monahan (68-32), and Claire Dean (69-31) — actual was 67.23% to 32.77%
- Ward 5: Mike Lastort (65-35), Seth Grimes (62-38), and Peter Dowling (61-39) — actual was 63.95% to 36.05%
- Total ballots: Alan Zibel (6,800), Claire Dean (5,900), and Peggy Walker (5,329) — actual was 6,549
Thanks to all who participated and to everyone who ran for office!
