Peter Franchot tests positive for COVID with Democratic primary for governor around the corner

Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot, a leading candidate in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, said on Twitter Friday that he tested positive for COVID-19.

Franchot said he is vaccinated and boosted and his symptoms are mild, but the positive test means he will need to quarantine during a crucial stretch of the political campaign to replace outgoing Republican Gov. Larry Hogan.

The primary election is July 19, though Maryland voters can vote ahead of time through mail-in ballots or by placing their ballot in an approved drop-box.

According to a poll of likely primary voters conducted a month ago by The Baltimore Sun and the University of Baltimore, Franchot led a crowded Democratic field at 20%, but roughly a third of Democratic voters polled said they had not made up their minds yet.

Franchot tweeted that he would “campaign from home until I am able to safely return to the trail.”

“I can’t wait to be back on the ground soon, sprinting toward a strong finish on July 19th and beyond!” the candidate wrote.