With the overwhelming passage of additional term limits on the County Executive position in Montgomery County, MD, the 2026 election season is shaping up to be more interesting, at least locally.
This is because the incumbent, career politician and “Democratic Socialists of America” member Marc Elrich is now term limited and cannot run for a third (consecutive) term at the most powerful executive position in MoCo.
Historically, the County Executive position has been filled by either former county council members or, in the case of Doug Duncan (who had the title until 2006), a former mayor of a major city in MoCo. Doug Duncan was the mayor of Rockville until 1993. Preceding Doug Duncan was Neal Potter, another longtime (20 year) county council member before becoming the chief executive of MoCo.
So who, at present, could we realistically expect to throw their hat in the race to claim the throne of County Exec?
It seems fair to assume councilmember Will Jawando will attempt a run for county executive. The CM has already attempted runs at the US Senate and the US House. It is clear he doesn’t want to be a councilmember much longer, and views the position as a stepping stone to something else. CM Evan Glass also seems like someone who might attempt a run. Increasingly, CM Glass is issuing statements that mimic what a county executive might try and communicate to a core group of supporters. Particularly supporters who are part of “Le Resistance” to the new US President down the road.
Councilmember Andrew Friedson will likely try and run for the position as well. He is well positioned to get support from his current district, which has the wealthiest zip codes in MoCo.
Who else might throw their hat in the political ring, at least in the local Democrat party primary? CM Kate Stewart was the former mayor of Takoma Park, MD and now sits on the council. The current mayor of Takoma Park is Talisha Searcy, who was elected in 2022 but prior to that, worked as a part-time Takoma Park city council member. This is another name to watch, since Takoma Park has an outsized influence on the Democratic party of MoCo, especially in crowded primaries.
Give it a year, watch each of these political players try to outdo themselves as “Le Resistance” to “he who must not be named”… and then get the microwave ready for some popcorn.
The race for the soon-to-be open County Exec position starts soon.
