Elrich on track to reprise role as County Councilmember at-large

Plus: Yang holds commanding lead in council District 1 race; Ashman, Shaw neck-and-neck in council District 3

June 24, 2026 2:10 a.m.

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) is pictured at Will Jawando's election night watch party in downtown Silver Spring. Elrich, who could not seek re-election due to term limits, is running for one of four at-large seats on the County Council. Credit: Ceoli Jacoby

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) was on track early Wednesday morning to reprise his role as an at-large member of the County Council after he was prevented from running for a third term due to term limits.

As of 1 a.m. Wednesday with all 257 Election Day precincts reporting, Elrich had 14.6% of the vote in the race for four at-large seats — more than any other candidate in the crowded Democratic primary field.

Laurie-Anne Sayles, the only incumbent in the at-large race, was second with 12.4% of the vote.

In third and fourth place, respectively, were Scott Goldberg with 11.9% and Fatmata Barrie with 10.4% of the vote. Montgomery County Board of Education member Karla Silvestre was close behind Barrie with 10.2% of the vote.

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Elrich, who is in the final months of his second four-year term as county executive, could not seek re-election this year. In November 2024, voters passed a referendum restricting the county executive to two consecutive terms in office, down from three.

Almost immediately after the referendum passed, Elrich vowed to seek a return to the County Council. He served as an at-large councilmember for three terms from 2006 to 2018. Prior to that, he served on the Takoma Park City Council from 1987 to 2006.

Speaking to Bethesda Today around 10 p.m. at the election night watch party in Silver Spring for Democratic county executive candidate Will Jawando, Elrich said he was not surprised by his lead in the council at-large race. He said he did not expect the results to change drastically in the ensuing hours — a prediction that proved to be true.

“I haven’t done any polling, but anyone who did polling told me I’d probably finish first,” Elrich said.

Council District 1

While Silvestre appeared to be struggling in the council at-large race, her school board colleague Julie Yang had a commanding lead in the Democratic primary for the council district that includes Bethesda, Chevy Chase and surrounding areas.

Just after 1 a.m. with all 42 Election Day precincts reporting, Yang had 50.4% of her party’s vote. Her closest opponent, longtime Elrich staffer Debbie Spielberg, had 31.4% of the vote. Drew Morrison, a state transportation policy adviser, was third with 18.2%.

District 1 is currently represented by Councilmember Andrew Friedson (D), who opted not to seek re-election so he could run for county executive instead. As of early Wednesday, Friedson was second in that race with 33.5% of the vote to Jawando’s 40.8%.

The winner of the Democratic primary in District 1 will advance to the Nov. 3 general election, where the candidate will face Republican Reardon Sullivan, who ran unopposed for his party’s nomination.

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Council District 3

The race to represent Gaithersburg, Rockville and surrounding areas on the County Council was still extremely close just after 1 a.m. Wednesday, with all 39 Election Day precincts reporting.

The district is currently represented by Councilmember Sidney Katz (D), who is term limited. Those seeking the Democratic nomination for his seat include Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman, Rockville City Councilmember Izola Shaw and former federal worker Allison Eriksen.

Early on Wednesday morning, Ashman had a tenuous hold on first place with 45.3% of the vote. Shaw was close behind with 43.8% and Eriksen was third with 10.8%.

The winner of the Democratic primary in District 3 will face Republican Ricky Mui, who ran unopposed for his party’s nomination, in the Nov. 3 general election.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine