Cumberland County flipped to Donald Trump last week, but downballot Democrats still appear to have had their strongest showing in years, likely winning a county commission seat for the first time since 2020.
Democratic County Clerk Celeste Riley — who right now is the only countywide Democrat in Cumberland — won reelection, defeating GOP Commissioner Victoria Lods 52%-48%. With fewer than 250 mail-in and provisional ballots left to process as of yesterday (and likely fewer than 250 to count when considering invalid provisional ballots), Riley’s 1,819-vote lead is insurmountable.
GOP Commissioner Antonio Romero won reelection to the commission and possesses a 561-vote lead over his next competitor.
Democrat Robert Austino, who served as Cumberland’s sheriff for 15 years until losing in 2023, appears to have unseated GOP Commissioner Joseph Sileo Jr. by about 50 votes. Austino declared victory on Facebook on Thursday morning, saying there were no votes left to count.
Democrat John Capizola, running 600 votes behind the other candidates, has lost.
Republicans will still firmly hold the commission 6-1 with Austino’s victory.
The downballot success comes despite a chaotic year for Cumberland Democrats.
Earlier this year, two different Democratic factions — one led by County Chairman Kevin McCann, the other led by a group of renegade local Democrats — each claimed to be the legitimate incarnation of the Cumberland County Democratic Committee. After the two factions each held separate “conventions,” two different slates of candidates ran for county commissioner in the primary.
McCann’s faction, Austino and Capizola, ended up securing the nomination.