In returns posted Friday night, Westdorp led Folden 28,803 to 27,906 in the Senate race. In the District 4 House contest, Democrat Jerry Donald led with 27,936 votes, followed by House Minority Leader Jesse Pippy at 27,344 and Democrat Andrew Duck at 27,181. If those results hold, Pippy would be the only Republican remaining in the district, which Democrats would have swept after capturing the seat left open by retiring Del. Barrie Ciliberti and unseating Del. April Miller.

The Frederick County results add to Democratic gains from election night, when challengers defeated Del. Stuart Schmidt in Anne Arundel County and Del. Barry Beauchamp in Wicomico County. As of Thursday night, 269,342 mail-in ballots remained to be counted statewide, according to the Maryland State Board of Elections. Mail-in ballots have historically favored Democrats.

Folden, a retired police officer elected to the House in 2014 and serving his first Senate term, declined to concede Friday morning but acknowledged the political headwinds.

"I'm still holding out hope, but I'm also a realist and understand the significance of the message that was sent across the country as far as the repudiation of [Republican President Donald] Trump and his policies," Folden said. He called representing his constituents "the honor of a lifetime" and cited his work on affordability, lower energy costs and freezing property taxes.

Senate Minority Leader Steve Hershey said District 4 "was the seat we were most concerned about protecting," adding that "results for Republicans across the state were much worse than anyone projected." Hershey said significant late money flowed to Democrats' mail-in ballot chase, which Republicans could not match. "We feel the District 4 team did everything needed to win," he said. "In any other year, this race is already over."

Hershey also pointed to local factors, saying Frederick County incumbents of both parties were tagged with a "pro-data center moniker, whether correctly or not."

Westdorp, owner of Frederick Reflexology, said she spent more than five hours Thursday watching ballots being canvassed at the county Board of Elections office. "It comes down to math," she said, noting that more mail-in ballots were likely to favor her. She acknowledged that challenging an incumbent "was a Hail Mary pass" but said the community needed a change.

"Everybody has a voice. We may not agree. I might not do exactly what you want, but I'll be happy to explain to you why we went in a certain direction," Westdorp said. "Our current senator does not provide that kind of space for any of his constituents. He's very exclusive in who he listens to."

County election officials have until Nov. 13 to certify results, with state certification due by Dec. 3. Statewide, 1.9 million ballots had been counted as of Thursday night, about 45% of Maryland's 4.3 million eligible voters. Early voting broke a turnout record for a gubernatorial election, and State Board of Elections Administrator Jared DeMarinis said two post-election audits — a risk-limiting audit and an independent audit — will be conducted before certification.

"We had nearly a million people [for early voting]. The turnout was really high," DeMarinis said. "This is what our democracy was based upon … the idea of voter participation, voters making their voices heard. They voted in a safe, secure environment and that's fantastic."

Voting at one Prince George's County precinct did not run smoothly. Several hours after polls closed Tuesday, a circuit judge rejected an emergency request to extend voting at the Robert J. DiPietro Community Center in Laurel after hours-long delays. Prince George's Election Administrator Wendy Honesty-Bey said election judges are asked to call the Board of Elections the day before Election Day if additional ballots, scanners or equipment are needed, but at the Laurel precinct a call was made "the day of." The county could exceed the 24,000 provisional ballots counted in the 2024 presidential election, she said.

"We had a high turnout at Robert DiPietro, which was good. People came out to vote" at the location and throughout the county, Honesty-Bey said. "We need to go back and debrief on what happened. This cannot happen again."

DeMarinis said his office will assess how the state can better assist local jurisdictions. "You can always refine the process. You can always make it a little bit better," he said.

Whatever the final outcome, Westdorp said she and her husband, who chaired her campaign, plan to leave the day after ballots are certified for a vacation he booked this summer. "I am going to Puerto Rico," she said. "This is what you do to keep a marriage strong and intact."