The Patriot Weekly – August 9, 2026
THE PATRIOT WEEKLY — Sunday, August 9, 2026
Susan Stewart Elected Rehoboth Beach Mayor
Stewart led a four-candidate field Saturday as voters also returned Mark Saunders and Patrick Gossett to the city commission.
Saturday-night results reported by city officials. The September 18 commissioners meeting is scheduled for the swearing-in.
Four Candidates, One Clear Result
The complete reported mayoral tally and the commission results.
DELMARVA Report
1,098 Ballots Cast In Person, Early or Absentee
City officials reported that 624 ballots were cast in person at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center and another 474 were cast through absentee or early voting.
Stewart received 623 votes in the mayoral contest. Craig Thier received 203, Suzanne Goode received 177, and William “Jake” Raak received 23.
Mister Pete’s 80-Pound White Marlin Wins Tournament’s Top Prize
Bill Sharpe’s winning catch leads the final Ocean City standings as Gray Fox takes two species divisions.
The 53rd White Marlin Open closed Saturday in Ocean City with the major leaders unchanged during the final weigh-in. The tournament reported 334 boats competing across six fishing days for an estimated $9.9 million in prize money.
Bill Sharpe of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, caught the winning white marlin aboard Mister Pete of Charleston. The fish weighed 80 pounds at the scales on Thursday, August 6—tournament Day 4—and finished with a listed prize of $3,503,891.54.
Reel Hunter of St. Michaels placed second in the white-marlin division. Kevin Howell of Queenstown caught its 71.5-pound fish on Friday, August 7, tournament Day 5. The final leaderboard lists $360,721.49 for that catch.
Bull Pen of Charleston finished third by weight with a 70-pound white marlin caught by James Hood on Wednesday, August 5, tournament Day 3. Its added-entry selections produced a listed prize of $1,818,546.84—more than the second-place fish despite the lower weight.
Gray Fox Wins Two Divisions
Gray Fox of Mantoloking, New Jersey, won both the tuna and wahoo divisions. John Wardlaw of Brielle caught a 179-pound bigeye tuna on August 5, worth a listed $1,018,653.29, and a 69.5-pound wahoo on August 6, worth $72,380.50.
The blue-marlin division went to MaxBet. Kelly Weber of Vero Beach caught the tournament’s only qualifying blue marlin, a 607.5-pound fish weighed August 5. The final leaderboard lists $1,271,797.04 for the catch.
Today’s The Day won the dolphin division with a 45-pound fish caught August 5 by Ryan Jones of Welcome, Maryland. No qualifying swordfish was weighed.
Delaware Politics
Rehoboth Beach Elects Susan Stewart Mayor
Stewart succeeds Mayor Stan Mills after finishing first in Saturday’s four-way contest.
Rehoboth Beach voters have elected Susan Stewart to be their next mayor. Stewart was the top vote-getter among four candidates seeking to succeed Mayor Stan Mills, who did not run for re-election.
Saturday night’s reported tally gave Stewart 623 votes. Craig Thier received 203 votes, Suzanne Goode received 177, and William “Jake” Raak received 23.
The election was nonpartisan. The city had scheduled voting from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center, with absentee voting also available under the city’s municipal election process.
Rehoboth Beach asked four candidates to make their case for mayor. Saturday’s reported result placed Stewart clearly first.
Commission Incumbents Returned
Voters also filled two city commission seats. Mark Saunders led that contest with 852 votes, followed by Patrick Gossett with 813. Jeffery Goode received 239 votes. Saunders and Gossett were re-elected.
City officials reported 624 ballots cast in person and 474 cast through absentee or early voting, for 1,098 ballots across the available voting methods.
Stewart, Saunders and Gossett are scheduled to be sworn in at the September 18 commissioners meeting.
Meyer Signs Delaware Voting Rights Act
House Bill 444 creates state-level protections addressing voter discrimination, suppression and vote dilution.
Governor Matt Meyer has signed House Bill 444, known as the Delaware John Lewis Voting Rights Act. State officials say the law prohibits voter discrimination, suppression and vote dilution and establishes a process for challenging alleged voting-rights violations.
The measure also requires language assistance intended to expand ballot access. The legislation was introduced in response to changes in federal voting-rights protections and takes effect July 1, 2027.
Maryland Politics & Eastern Shore Government
Primary Sets the Field as Redistricting Fight Moves to Voters
Official results return Andy Harris as the Republican nominee and select Dan Schwartz as the Democratic nominee in the congressional district centered on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
Maryland’s official 2026 primary results set the general-election field in the 1st Congressional District, the state’s only congressional district centered on the Eastern Shore.
Representative Andy Harris won the Republican primary with 54,122 votes, or 79.70 percent. Chris Bruneau received 13,788 votes, or 20.30 percent.
Dan Schwartz won the Democratic primary with 19,821 votes, or 46.28 percent. Randi White followed with 15,723 votes, or 36.72 percent. Victor Allen Guidice received 4,274 votes and George Walish received 3,006.
The result took on renewed importance this week when the Maryland General Assembly approved a proposed constitutional amendment addressing congressional redistricting. The question is expected to go before voters in November. If approved, it could clear the way for another congressional-map debate affecting the 2028 election cycle.
The Morning Team’s coverage carried the Eastern Shore argument through interviews and legislative audio involving Senator Mary Beth Carozza and Delegates Barry Beauchamp, Wayne Hartman and Tom Hutchinson. Their recurring concern was that the peninsula’s rural communities, farmers, watermen and local governments could lose influence when lines are redrawn.
Sheriff’s Office to Restore 24/7 Patrol Coverage
Continuous countywide patrols are scheduled to resume August 20 following staffing and salary changes.
The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office says it will restore 24-hour patrol coverage throughout the county beginning August 20. The decision follows a review of staffing levels and operational priorities conducted with the County Commissioners.
The agency says salary adjustments have increased the number of qualified applicants. One certified deputy has been hired, three deputy recruits are attending the police academy, and two deputies have returned from extended medical leave. The recruits are expected to join the agency in April 2027 after completing academy and field training.
Sheriff Ronald Howard said the staffing improvements put the office in a stronger position to meet the county’s public-safety needs.
UMES Veterinary School Awaits Accreditation Decision
A favorable decision would allow the university to begin accepting applications for Maryland’s proposed first in-state veterinary school.
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore is awaiting a decision following a June site visit by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education. The review covered the proposed veterinary school’s readiness to meet 11 accreditation standards.
If UMES receives a Letter of Reasonable Assurance and completes the remaining institutional steps, it may begin accepting applications for the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program. The university plans an inaugural summer 2027 class of 100 students—50 Maryland residents and 50 nonresidents—pending approval.
Public Safety
Measles Cases Reach 20 as Delaware Health Risk Grows
All confirmed Delaware cases in the August 7 update were in Kent County. The highly contagious airborne disease can cause pneumonia, brain inflammation and other serious complications.
Delaware public-health officials reported 20 confirmed measles cases as of August 7, all in Kent County. Six cases involved children from birth through age 9, one involved a person age 10 through 19, and 13 involved adults age 20 or older.
That age distribution matters. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says children younger than 5 and adults older than 20 have an increased risk of serious complications. Pregnant people and people with weakened immune systems are also at greater risk.
Why Measles Demands Immediate Attention
Measles is one of the world’s most contagious diseases. It spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes, and the virus can remain infectious in a room for as long as two hours after that person leaves. CDC guidance says up to nine out of 10 nearby people who lack protection may become infected.
The illness is not simply a fever and rash. Complications can include pneumonia and encephalitis, or swelling of the brain. Infection during pregnancy can contribute to premature birth or low birth weight. Severe illness may require hospitalization, and measles can be fatal.
Symptoms and Timing
Symptoms generally begin seven to 14 days after exposure. Early warning signs include a high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes. Small white spots may appear inside the mouth, followed several days later by a rash that usually begins on the face and spreads down the body.
A person with measles can spread the virus before realizing a rash is developing. CDC clinical guidance considers patients contagious from four days before through four days after the rash appears.
Vaccination and Protection
Health officials say two MMR doses are about 97 percent effective at preventing measles; one dose is about 93 percent effective. CDC recommends two routine childhood doses and says adults without evidence of immunity should discuss vaccination with a health-care provider. Pregnancy and some immune conditions affect whether a person should receive the live MMR vaccine, so those patients should seek individualized medical advice.
Maryland contact tracing continued with 13 confirmed cases reported in the state during 2026 in the August 7 WGMD update. Because case counts and exposure locations can change quickly, readers should consult current state health notices in addition to this dated report.
Read the complete WGMD public-health report.
CDC measles overview · Symptoms and complications · Vaccination guidance.
Delaware Records Year’s First West Nile Detection
A sentinel chicken in eastern Kent County tested positive; no human cases had been reported.
DNREC announced Delaware’s first West Nile virus detection of the year after a sentinel chicken in eastern Kent County tested positive. The chicken was sampled July 20, and the Delaware Division of Public Health laboratory confirmed the result July 31.
Officials said the detection was slightly earlier than usual but consistent with activity elsewhere in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. No human cases of West Nile virus or Eastern equine encephalitis had been reported in Delaware at the time of the announcement.
Additional surveillance may lead to targeted mosquito-control measures. Residents are encouraged to remove standing water and take precautions against mosquito bites.
Talk of DELMARVA
What listeners heard—and asked—on the peninsula’s local programs this week. Host commentary, guest analysis and caller conversation are identified separately from newsroom reporting.
Eastern Shore Representation Drives the Redistricting Debate
With Mike Bradley covering the White Marlin Open during part of the week, substitute hosts continued the program’s interviews with Eastern Shore lawmakers.
Maryland’s special legislative session became the Morning Team’s most consequential regional political subject. Senator Mary Beth Carozza and Delegate Barry Beauchamp appeared during the August 4 program, hosted by Bill Reddish while Bradley was assigned to the White Marlin Open.
The program later carried arguments from Delegates Wayne Hartman and Tom Hutchinson about the proposed constitutional amendment. The broadcasts connected congressional lines to the Eastern Shore’s ability to make its case on farming, commercial fishing, tourism, transportation and state spending.
The Morning Team also examined pressure to place solar development on agricultural land. Beauchamp argued for greater use of rooftops, parking lots and other developed spaces before productive farmland. Those statements are presented here as an elected official’s policy argument, not an independently established finding.
DELMARVA Listeners Put Cameras, Warrants and Energy Policy to Jake Smith’s Guests
DIAL questions moved from the audience screen to live interviews with Judge Andrew Napolitano and other guests.
A DELMARVA listener using the name Flyboy asked Judge Andrew Napolitano how automated license-plate cameras and government databases fit with the Fourth Amendment. Napolitano treated the concern as substantial and discussed warrants, retained data and the willingness of private companies to provide information to government agencies.
The exchange is guest legal analysis—not a ruling that a particular local camera system is unlawful. The program did not establish the contracts, retention periods or operating policies of individual DELMARVA police agencies.
Energy was the other locally resonant discussion. Guest Sam Romain of Americans for Energy Dominance discussed diesel supply, refining capacity, electric-grid resilience and household battery systems. Listener messages brought Delaware’s decision not to pursue small modular nuclear reactors in the short term and the future of the Indian River power site into the conversation.
A later interview with Ammon Blair of the Texas Public Policy Foundation addressed agricultural labor and immigration policy. Local listeners and a farmer joined the discussion about wages, overtime and the difficulty of filling farm jobs. Claims about labor availability remain attributed to the speakers.
Jake Smith is the host and interviewer. Guest statements and listener questions are not DTD MEDIA newsroom findings.
Delaware’s Closed Primary Becomes a Local Talk-Line Question
MJ Powell and callers debated crossover voting weeks before Delaware Republicans and Democrats choose their nominees.
Two callers used the August 5 program to discuss how primary voting works in Delaware. The official rule is clear: Delaware operates closed Democratic and Republican primaries. Only voters registered with a party may vote in that party’s September 15 primary.
One limited exception applies to certain voters automatically registered through the Division of Motor Vehicles who were initially placed in a no-party category. State election officials say those voters may designate Democratic or Republican affiliation through primary day under the provision governing their first primary after automatic registration.
Elsewhere during the week, Powell’s callers described persistent loss of smell and other symptoms following COVID-19, debated whether political messages are reaching working families, and put the price of healthier food at the center of a household-budget discussion. Those segments document what callers chose to discuss; they are not medical findings or a scientific measure of DELMARVA opinion.
Delaware Department of Elections — 2026 primary information.
Pictures of the Week
Five reader photographs published by WGMD’s Talk of DELMARVA Picture of the Day capture the peninsula’s wildlife, shoreline and summer character.
Images and photographer credits are drawn from WGMD’s published Picture of the Day entries for August 4–8, 2026.
Week Ahead
- Election recordThe newsroom will follow the municipal election record for any official update to Saturday night’s reported totals.
- August 20The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office is scheduled to resume continuous countywide patrol coverage.
- August 24DART plans to make its proposed statewide bus-service changes available for public review.
- September 1–3DART public-hearing workshops are scheduled in Wilmington, Dover and Georgetown. Written comments are due September 8.
- September 18Susan Stewart, Mark Saunders and Patrick Gossett are scheduled to be sworn in at the commissioners meeting.
DART Seeks Comment on Statewide Service Changes
Workshops are scheduled September 1 in Wilmington, September 2 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Dover Public Library, and September 3 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Georgetown Public Library. Proposed changes would take effect November 15.
Source Library
Election Reporting
DTD Media / The Talk of DELMARVA breaking-news update supplied August 8, 2026: mayoral and commission vote totals, voting-method totals and swearing-in date.
City Records
City of Rehoboth Beach — 2026 Municipal Election: election date, polling place and candidate slate.
City of Rehoboth Beach — Mayor and Commissioners: board structure and municipal meeting information.
White Marlin Open
Official 2026 leaderboard: final species standings, boats, anglers, weights, dates and listed prize amounts.
Official tournament closing report: final-day summary and division winners.
WGMD Local Reporting
Delaware Voting Rights Act · Somerset County patrol coverage · UMES veterinary-school accreditation
Delaware and Maryland measles update · West Nile virus detection · DART public-hearing schedule
Official Public-Health Guidance
Delaware Division of Public Health: initial 2026 Delaware case notice and contact-tracing guidance.
CDC measles overview · symptoms and complications · MMR vaccination guidance.
Pictures of the Week
Jonathan Harrell — Assateague ponies · Travis Martin — bayside sunset · Dave Nelson — Ocean View and Bethany Beach
Sammy Barnes — Ocean City · Jody Hudson — Lewes and Rehoboth Beach
Elections and Broadcast Record
Maryland State Board of Elections — official congressional primary results.
Delaware Department of Elections — September 15 primary rules, dates and voting options.
WGMD/WUSX transcript record for August 3–7: Mike Bradley and the Morning Team; Your News Talk America with Jake Smith; Your Turn DELMARVA with MJ Powell. Broadcast-derived material is labeled by program and content type throughout.
Vote totals in this edition are the Saturday-night results reported in the August 8 local news update. They are not labelled certified totals.
Publisher’s Note
The Patriot Weekly is an independent publication of DTD MEDIA, The Talk of DELMARVA, WGMD, WUSX, and RealNewsTalk.com. Content may include original reporting, public-source research, WGMD.com local news coverage, RealNewsTalk.com reporting and content resources, WGMD and WUSX broadcast material, and selected national news resources, including content available through Fox News Radio. All editorial selection, article preparation, summaries, commentary, graphics, layout, and presentation remain the responsibility of DTD MEDIA.