"I wanted to feel something we never did," said Johnson, who said she would have voted for Pierre had she stayed in the race. "It's really not color; it's conscious over color. Josh Cohen's the next best thing."
A 54-year-old man who said he didn't want his name published because he works in the state comptroller's office, said he votes regularly, but won't make it to the polls in November.
"Don't know him," he said, when asked about Cohen. "After [Pierre's] shocking letdown, I don't think I'm going to vote."
Peterson, the school board member, said Cohen, a former city alderman, can win voters over by showcasing his dedication to progressive politics. Cohen has pledged diversity in his cabinet and said he would appoint a liaison to public housing resident councils and would invite the housing authority's executive director to attend weekly cabinet meetings.
"He is a person that's always brought people together, with everything that happened through the campaign and the primary, we need to pull people back together," Peterson said. "And I believe Josh is the one person that can do that."
Peterson added: "I think folks in the black community will take note of my face."
County Councilman Daryl Jones, the highest-ranking African-American elected official in Anne Arundel, said Cohen must work hard to prove himself.
"He probably has a real challenge in front of him," said Jones, a Democrat. "Certainly there would be a concern that not just Pierre voters, but others would stay home, just frustrated from the process. It's really just an unknown."
