MoCo early voters split between incumbents, newcomers on embattled Board of Education

Early voters in Montgomery County were decidedly undecided about whether to clean house at the Board of Education. Montgomery County Public Schools have been in a steady decline, with a widening achievement gap, since 2010.

According to early voting results released by the Board of Elections, those voting through last Thursday chose challenger and popular former MCPS principal Jeanette Dixon over incumbent and board apologist Phil Kauffman by 54%-45%.

In contrast, early voters favored incumbent Rebecca Smondrowski over challenger Brandon Rippeon by a whopping 71% to 28%.

Newcomer Shebra Evans also won big with early voters, with 70% to Anjali Reed Phukan's 29%.