The filing deadline has passed. Here’s who is running for office in Montgomery County.

The race for four at-large seats on the Montgomery County Council just got larger.

The deadline to file candidacy for office in Maryland passed Tuesday, with a few last-minute stragglers. Seventeen candidates — all Democrats — will compete for four at-large seats on the County Council.

Incumbent Laurie-Anne Sayles hopes to win reelection to a second term, but the other three at-large seats will be new faces. Gabe Albornoz left his post late last year to become the county’s recreation director, and Will Jawando and Evan Glass gave up their chances at a third term to run for county executive.

County Executive Marc Elrich is arguably the most high-profile candidate for the at-large seat, but he’s not the only elected official. Karla Silvestre, a county school board member, and Jim McNulty, a member of the Gaithersburg City Council, are also running. Josie Caballero, the policy committee chair for the state commission on LGBTQ+ affairs, would be the first openly transgender councilmember if elected.

Among those who filed in the last week is Matt Losak, the founder and director of the Montgomery County Renters Alliance, a prominent and influential nonprofit that played a strong role in the county’s decision to pass rent stabilization legislation. Hamza Khan, a local political activist; Dana Eugene Gassaway, a frequent local candidate; and community activist Vicki Vergagni also filed 11th-hour candidacy paperwork.

A complete list of candidates running in Montgomery County is available here.

Two other council races to watch are for the District 1 seat, which is being vacated by county executive candidate Andrew Friedson, and the District 3 seat, which Sidney Katz has held since 2014 and must leave due to term limits.

The District 1 race is full of local political insiders. Drew Morrison, a former council staff member; school board member Julie Yang and Elrich’s chief of staff, Debbie Spielberg, round out a strong competition for the Democratic party nomination.

The race has drawn unusual Republican interest for Montgomery County, with former GOP Central Committee Chair Reardon Sullivan running as his party’s candidate.

In District 3, two Democratic candidates with municipal experience and vastly different views on housing and development are emerging as front-runners. Gaithersburg Mayor Jud Ashman opposes rent stabilization and supports increased development in the area, while Rockville City Council member Izola Shaw led an unsuccessful campaign to implement rent stabilization in the city.

Allison Eriksen, a Democrat and former USAID employee, and Ricky Mui, a Republican and business consultant, are also running in District 3.

County executive hopefuls and General Assembly shake-ups

There’s no big February surprise in the Montgomery County executive race. Jawando, Glass and Friedson appear to be the heavy hitters and major fundraisers in the race to replace Elrich. But they’re not the only candidates. Mithun Banerjee, a project manager, and Peter James, who works in artificial intelligence, are running as Democrats.

In an unusual turn of events, two Republicans will battle for their party’s nomination. Attorney Shelly Skolnick announced his candidacy in September, and community advocate Esther Wells filed to run Monday. Wells ran for school board in 2022 and is the president of the Montgomery County Taxpayers League.

Del. Bonnie Cullison’s announcement last month that she intends to retire from the General Assembly after 16 years is a major political shake-up and presents an opening in District 19. Christa Tichy, an electrical engineer and secretary of the county’s Democratic Central Committee, was the first to file to replace Cullison after withdrawing her candidacy to become an at-large member of the council.

Since then, four additional Democrats have filed to run for the seat: Sunil Dasgupta, a UMBC political science professor and podcast host; Sebastian Johnson, a philanthropy consultant; Alec Stone, a nonprofit executive; and Gabriel Sorrel, a software engineer.

District 39 lawmakers have added a veteran of the Gaithersburg City Council to their campaign slate. The incumbents on the slate, led by Senate Majority Leader Nancy King, are hoping Councilmember Robert Wu will become the fourth representative from District 39.

Slate members are hoping he will replace Del. Gabriel Acevero, a Democratic Socialist who’s had tense relationships with others in the District 39 delegation. Acevero told The Banner in October he has “every intention of running a strong race and making my case to the voters.”

“They won’t allow [the] establishment to decide who represents them,” he said.

Other races to watch

Less high-profile races are attracting compelling candidates. Brenda Diaz, a school board candidate who made headlines for leaving her job with Montgomery County Public Schools after violating a mask mandate during the COVID-19 pandemic, is making a second run after an unsuccessful 2024 race. Although she lost the general election, she beat several candidates in a competitive primary.

And, in the race for representation on the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee, 16-year-old Samir Ahmed hopes to become the youngest elected official in Maryland. He volunteers with the committee and serves as the vice chair of Maryland High School Democrats.

Even the race for register of wills is unusually competitive. Following the death of incumbent Joseph Griffin in August, the open seat has seen unprecedented interest, with three Democrats and one Republican filing candidacy.

And the race for sheriff may be one of the most heated in the county, as incumbent Maxwell Uy lost high-profile endorsements and received a vote of no confidence from union members. Challenger Will Milam is hoping to unseat him.

Early voting in Maryland will be held from June 11-18, and the primary election will be held June 23. Register to vote here.