Jawando claims victory in Democratic primary for Montgomery County executive
Latest unofficial results from State Board of Elections show candidate with 40.5% of the vote; thousands of mail-in ballots still left to count
By
Ceoli JacobyJune 26, 2026 12:06 p.m. | Updated: June 26, 2026 12:10 p.m.
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Will Jawando on Friday morning claimed victory in the Democratic primary for Montgomery County executive, issuing a statement saying he is “honored” to be the party’s nominee.
“I’m deeply grateful to Governor Wes Moore, Senator Angela Alsobrooks and the over 40 organizations who believed in our vision and for standing with us,” Jawando said in the statement. “Now the real work begins, and together, we’re going to deliver for every single person who calls Montgomery County home.”
In a Friday interview at the Silver Spring Civic Building, Jawando told Bethesda Today that his focus once in office would be to “appoint the smartest, most diverse cabinet” in county history and extend the county’s moratorium on data center development to two years. If elected in November, Jawando would be sworn in during the first week of December.
Jawando said he also plans to begin talks with Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Thomas Taylor and the county school board on the county’s fiscal year 2028 budget. He said starting early would be necessary “to make sure that we’re not in the situation we found ourselves this year, where we’re taking steps backwards,” referring to staff cuts the school district implemented to balance its fiscal year 2027 budget.
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The latest unofficial results from the Maryland State Board of Elections on Friday morning show Jawando, currently an at-large member of the County Council, in the lead with 40.5% of the vote. District 1 Councilmember Andrew Friedson was second with 33.8% of the vote.
At-large Councilmember Evan Glass, the other top contender in the Democratic race, was third with 21.7% of the vote. Glass called Jawando on election night to concede.
As of Friday morning, Friedson had yet to concede, Jawando said. A spokesperson for the Friedson campaign did not immediately respond Friday morning to Bethesda Today’s request for comment by phone.
In a statement posted to social media on Thursday, Friedson said he began his campaign for county executive “as a clear underdog against better known opponents.”
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“While we are committed to ensuring every vote is counted and every voice is heard, and know we’ve been leading the mail-in voting, the math ahead of us is undeniably difficult,” Friedson said. “We will continue to watch the returns closely and will keep you updated as the Board of Elections updates their counts.”
As of 6 p.m. Thursday, the end of the most recent mail-in ballot canvass, 39,840 mail-in ballots from Montgomery County voters remain to be counted, according to the state elections board. The majority of the remaining ballots are from Democrats, who outnumber Republicans 4-1 in the county.
Montgomery County Board of Elections President David Naimon said at the start of Thursday’s mail-in ballot canvass that about 5,000 provisional ballots were also cast during the primary election. State law says the board cannot begin counting those ballots until July 1 at the earliest, according to Naimon.
Jawando told Bethesda Today on Friday he is confident that the outstanding mail-in ballots and provisional ballots will not be enough to tip the election in Friedson’s favor.
“We have a pretty wide margin, especially by Montgomery County’s recent election standards,” Jawando said, referring to the 2022 county executive race that Marc Elrich won by just 32 votes. “With the mail-in ballots left, the margin that my opponent would have to achieve is higher than the margins that they have been achieving.”
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Friedson received 39% of the votes from the first mail-in ballot canvass while Jawando received 31%, according to unofficial results released Tuesday night. The latest results show Friedson’s share of votes from mail-in ballots remain roughly the same, while Jawando’s share has grown slightly to about 32%.
Naimon told Bethesda Today in a text message Friday morning that more updated results were expected to be posted by the state elections board later in the day. The next mail-in ballot canvass will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine