Nembhard Suspends County Exec Bid, Endorses Kitchin

Kyle Nembhard, who was running to serve as county executive, has dropped out of the primary election.

By Gaby Arancibia, Patch Staff

Jun 8, 2026 4:38 pm EDT

Days before early voting kicks off in Anne Arundel County, a candidate has suspended his campaign and endorsed another challenger. (Patch Graphics)

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — County executive contender Kyle Nembhard announced the suspension of his campaign on Monday, acknowledging that his political bid "was a long shot."

Nembhard, who has experience serving as a city and regional planner for Amtrak, was one of four Democrats competing in the June primary.

He was facing off against fellow challengers James Kitchin and Councilmembers Allison Pickard and Pete Smith. All four candidates were running to succeed County Executive Steuart Pittman, who is barred from seeking another term in office.

"Despite entering the race late, I ran because I was deeply concerned by how quickly our elected officials compromise our infrastructure and sustainable future for political expediency," he said in a release.

"Over the past four months, I’ve participated in dozens of forums, knocked on doors, and listened to residents across the county. Through this process, I have also learned more about the other candidates."

"The values and principles on which I built this campaign are far larger than myself. To ensure those principles succeed, I am fully prepared to step aside and do what is necessary to advance the work," he added.

In stepping aside, Nembhard said he would be moving forward by throwing his endorsement behind Kitchin, whose "messaging and policy" is most like his.

"From the start, we have shared the same logic and philosophy regarding responsible growth in Anne Arundel County: ensuring residents have a true seat at the table and working tirelessly to ban private developer money from our local politics," Nembhard said, adding that he will be appearing at Kitchin events.

Kitchin is one of the candidates running on the county's public campaign financing system, which is intended to pull back on the influence of large private contributions in local elections. Former Annapolis Mayor and current 6th District candidate Gavin Buckley is also running under the program.

The winner of the Democratic primary will go head-to-head against Dave Crawford, the sole Republican candidate.

Early voting for the primary begins Thursday and will run through June 18. Primary Election Day will take place June 23.