Nino Mangione, a Republican first cousin of accused UnitedHealthcare CEO killer Luigi Mangione, won a seat on the Baltimore County Council on Tuesday, taking about 49% of the vote to 45% for Democrat Shawn McIntosh in District 5, according to unofficial results compiled by the Maryland Association of Counties.
Independent Cory Shaffer drew just over 2,000 votes, while WYPR put Mangione's lead over McIntosh at about 1,200 votes. The race isn't over on paper: McIntosh has not conceded and is waiting on mail-in ballots, as are two other Democratic council candidates who trailed on election night, WYPR reported. Official results come after a full count of pending votes.
Mangione, 39, served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 2019 to 2026. The county Republican central committee appointed him to the council in late May to finish the term of Wade Kach, who resigned, and he resigned his House seat when he was sworn in on June 1. He then won the June 23 Republican primary, taking 75% against riverkeeper Theaux Le Gardeur, according to the same county wrap-up.
His win comes as the council grows from seven seats to nine. Democrats are expected to hold a 5-4 majority on the new council, with Republicans winning Mangione's seat along with David Marks, Josh Sines and Tim Fazenbaker, per the unofficial tally.
Nino Mangione has kept his distance from the case. After Luigi's December 2024 arrest he issued a statement for the family expressing shock and sympathy for the Thompson family, and he has declined to answer questions about his cousin since.
That case has since reached a different place than the campaign. Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court in August to the stalking charges tied to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, telling the judge, "I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan," as we reported. The plea left his state murder case alive on paper, where he has pleaded not guilty; his lawyers are expected to argue it should be dismissed on double jeopardy grounds, which we covered when the plea came in.
Voters in District 5 knew the name. It is the same last name on the ballot as the man whose face became a symbol for the anger at health insurers, and a Republican with it still carried the district by four points in a midterm year when his party lost badly elsewhere.