2026 MD Primary Takeaways: How Did Montgomery County Candidates Fare?

Updated, 12:59 p.m. Wednesday

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — The unofficial 2026 primary results are in this Wednesday, and they're showing a bit of a shake-up for Montgomery County's political landscape.

Verification of the results isn't expected to be finalized until July.

What's The Latest On County Executive?

In the Democratic race for county executive, Councilmember Will Jawando is the leading contender with 36,517 votes (40.84%).

Trailing Jawando is Councilmember Andrew Friedson with 29,968 ballots (33.51%). The top-three is rounded out by Councilmember Evan Glass, who claimed 19,291 ballots (21.57%).

Related: Cox To Face Moore In Bid For Governor, Key Congress Races Called: MD Primary Results 2026

On the Republican ticket, Esther Wells was called the race winner by the Associated Press after she gained 5,240 votes (60.38%).

Wells was being challenged by Shelly Skolnick, who gained 3,439 ballots (39.62%).

What About The County Council Races?

Of all the County Council races, the most contested was the bid for one of the four open at-large seats.

In total, 18 candidates, 17 of whom were Democrats, were running for the posting.

At-Large Race

The four leading Democrats for the seats included:

Councilmember Karla Silvestre ranked fifth with 31,380 votes (10.17%).

Republican candidate Sherwin Wells ran unopposed, advancing with 8,036 votes.

District 1

In the 1st District, former school board member Julie Yang leads the Democratic pack with 8,129 votes (50.44% of the tally), with Debbie Spielberg trailing behind at 5,054 votes (31.36%).

Uncontested Republican candidate Reardon Sullivan advances with 1,204 votes.

District 2

Marilyn Balcombe was the uncontested Democratic primary candidate for the 2nd District. She tallied 9,509 ballots.

District 3

In the race for the 3rd District seat, Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman maintained a narrow lead with 4,931 votes (45.43%). Challenger Izola Shaw trailed with 4,749 votes (43.75%).

Republican candidate Ricky Fai Mui ran uncontested. He advances after claiming 996 votes.

District 4

With a sharp lead, 4th District Councilmember Kate Stewart held a firm lead with 12,598 votes (82.04%).

Challengers Paula Bienenfeld and Peter Whitesell gained 1,691 (11.01%) and 1,067 votes (6.95%), respectively.

District 5

In the race for the 5th District seat, incumbent Democrat Kristin Mink secured a healthy lead with 9,714 votes (83.15%).

Republican candidate Josephine Salazar ran unopposed, securing 1,004 votes.

District 6

The 6th District seat is likely to stay under incumbent Democrat Natalia Fani-González's control as she secured 6,586 votes (63.41%).

Uncontested Republican candidate Louella Tham advances with 828 votes.

District 7

In the race for the 7th District seat, Dawn Luedtke maintains a strong lead with 6,528 votes (65.50%).

Republican candidate Harold Maldonado ran unopposed, securing 1,871 ballots.

What About School Board Candidates?

While not all results have been posted by the state, tallies for the at-large and 3rd District seats have been released.

Latest numbers for the at-large post show that candidate Omar Lazo holds a slight lead with 30,090 ballots (33.11%) against challenger Brenda Diaz's 27,991 votes (30.80%).

For the 3rd District, contender Sally McCarthy holds a firm lead with 40,736 ballots (45.98%). Runner-up Cassandra Sung claimed 15,528 votes (17.53%).

The tables below will continue updating in real time as the state releases new vote tallies.

County Executive Candidates

County Council At-Large Candidates

County Council - 1st District

County Council - 2nd District

*Note: Arian Borghei is the Republican candidate and will run in the November general election.

County Council - 3rd District

County Council - 4th District

County Council - 5th District

County Council - 6th District

County Council - 7th District

Board Of Education Race (Non-Partisan)

Board Of Education - 1st District

Board Of Education - 3rd District

Board Of Education - 5th District

The outcome of the races will heavily impact critical decision-making on the county's budgetary, housing, transportation and school policies.

Some of the major points of discussion that enveloped County Council and school board candidates ahead of the primary included:

• The expansion of data centers and its implications on residents' cost of living.
• The establishment of affordable housing.
• Ensuring adequate funding for Montgomery County Public Schools was provided to prevent program and staffing cuts.
• Relocating students away from Thomas S. Wootton High School and shifting widespread school assignments.

Results for all races will also be available on the Maryland Department of Elections website.