Marc Elrich in 2014 by Edward Kimmel licensed under Creative Commons.

Election links are back! Marc Elrich’s narrow victory has been confirmed by a recount but a Democratic council colleague has decided to run an independent bid, seven DC council members support legislation to overturn Initiative 77, the at-large council race begins to take shape, Matt de Ferranti discusses opportunities and challenges for Arlington, and more in our election link roundup. Want to stay on top of our 2018 election coverage? Sign up for our weekly newsletter!

Elrich's victory is confirmed
Though his lead shrank from 79 votes to just 77, Marc Elrich held on in the recount to win the Democratic primary for Montgomery Executive. Elrich expressed a desire to sit down with runner-up David Blair to discuss some of the ideas Blair advanced during the campaign. For his part, Blair called to concede and congratulate Elrich, and Blair will support Elrich in the general election. (Bruce Deputy / Maryland Matters)

Floreen enters the race for Montgomery County Executive
Alarmed at the prospect of a choice between Marc Elrich and Robin Flicker, Nancy Floreen has decided to launch an independent bid for Montgomery County Executive. Floreen is Elrich’s Democratic colleague on the Montgomery County Council. Floreen is seen as a more business-friendly alternative to Elrich. She is supportive of efforts to reform zoning to make it easier to build more housing. Floreen faces a number of obstacles to get on the ballot in November, much less win. The Democratic establishment has begun to (sometimes reluctantly) line up behind Elrich. (Ally Schweitzer / WAMU)

Battle over DC’s Initiative 77 continues
Seven DC council members (Phil Mendelson, Anita Bonds, Jack Evans, Trayon White, Brandon Todd, Vincent Gray, and Kenyan McDuffie) quietly introduced legislation to overturn ballot Initiative 77, which won with 55% of the vote and would raise the tipped minimum wage to match to general minimum wage. Mary Cheh, Charles Allen, and Brianne Nadeau call for hearings and potential compromises, such as raising the tipped minimum wage more slowly to allow for a longer adjustment period. Congressional Republicans also threatened to overturn Initiative 77, but the effort died in committee. (Rachel Sadon / WAMU)

At-large DC Council race takes shape
Including incumbents Anita Bonds and Elissa Silverman, at least nine individuals are currently running or considering a run for the two at-large DC Council seats that are up in 2018. Three candidates that are currently working to get enough petitions to appear on the ballot are thought to have the backgrounds and support to run serious campaigns. Traci Hughes, the former director of the DC Office of Open Government, and Dionne Reeder, business owner and former legislative affairs staffer on Capitol Hill, are running as “Independent Democrats.” S. Kathryn Allen, a business owner and onetime head of the DC Department of Banking and Financial Institutions is running as an independent, though one with “strong Democratic values.” (Jonetta Rose Barras / DC Line)

Hogan embraces a tuition-free college program
Maryland governor Larry Hogan announced his support to expand The College Promise program to cover both two-year and four-year public state programs at no cost for students who meet income requirements. Maryland would become the second state, after New York, to guarantee free tuition for bachelor’s degrees for students who meet eligibility requirements. Hogan’s support for this program is seen as a move to undercut Ben Jealous’ campaign and its focus on expanding free college programs. (Ovetta Wiggins / Post)

De Ferranti discusses his vision for Arlington
Arlington Democratic county board nominee Matt de Ferranti discusses the trend towards greater urbanism in the region and the challenges and opportunities this presents to Arlington, particularly as residents are priced out. De Ferranti also covers the potential cost and benefits of Amazon HQ2 and other fixes to Arlington’s high office vacancy rate. (Alex Koma / ARLnow)

More congressional meddling in local DC policy
Once again, some of the most important 2018 elections for local policy in DC will take place in Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, and California. House Republicans voted to block DC’s version of the individual mandate under the ACA, passed restrictions against using local funds to help low-income women obtain abortions, overturned a law that banned employment discrimination on the basis of reproductive health decisions, blocked efforts to commercialize recreational marijuana, and blocked efforts to allow terminally ill patients to end their lives. Northern Virginia’s Barbara Comstock voted with her Republican colleagues in support of this meddling. The good news is that 28 Senators and 161 House members now support DC statehood. (Jenna Portnoy and Peter Jamison / Post)