While national politics continue to dominate our news feeds, it can be challenging to find out who’s running for office in our own backyards and where they stand on the issues. That’s why Streetcar Suburbs Publishing and The Laurel Independent have taken the time to pull together voter guides on key elections happening in our communities.
You may have seen our voter guide for Prince George’s County, but not all of our readership will be voting in that jurisdiction. Our readers in North Laurel, for example, will cast ballots for candidates in Howard County, which is why we’ve broken down some of the key races happening in HoCo.
Why should I vote in the primary?
Howard County politics are dominated by Democrats, albeit not as much as Prince George’s County due to Republican strongholds in western Howard County. That means competitive partisan elections are unlikely in Howard County, and primary election winners are likely to win the general election in November.
Still, the County Council’s 5th District, which includes most of the western two-thirds of the county, is the only local office in Howard County held by a Republican. It is also the only county-level election Republicans will contest this November. In all other council districts, as well as the county executive race, the winning Democrat will be essentially unopposed in November.
How can I vote?
Mail-in ballots started arriving in May for the June 23 election. To vote in Democratic primary races, you need to register as a Democrat. June 2 was the deadline to register to vote online or by mail.
The Maryland State Board of Elections announced in mid-May that mail-in ballots sent before May 14 contained errors. Corrected ballots are arriving in the mail, and information is being updated on the state Board of Elections website.
You can also register to vote in person on Election Day; remember ended on June 18. Visit the Howard County Board of Elections website for a list of early voting centers and ballot drop-box locations.
Who is running for office?
Our voter guide focuses on the County Council district and county executive races. For a more comprehensive list of races in Howard County, click here.
District 1
District 1 is centered on Ellicott City and covers much of northeastern Howard County. It is currently represented by Democrat Liz Walsh, who is running for county executive. The three candidates — Democrats Kevin Chin, James Handley and Jean Xu — all reside in Ellicott City.
Handley, a Maryland assistant attorney general and Army veteran who was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, has been endorsed by Del. Courtney Watson and several local Democratic Party clubs. He is running as a progressive Democrat and has made his opposition to Trump central to his campaign.
Kevin Chin, who works as an emergency physician in Baltimore City, is endorsed by Del. Chao Wu (District 9A), Sen. Clarence Lam (District 12) and several other local officials. His platform is built on improving schools, housing affordability, public safety and environmental preservation.
Jean Xu has served as chair of the Howard County Ethics Commission and has been a member of the county Board of Appeals and the PTA. She is an immigrant from China who says she protested at Tiananmen Square in 1989. Her platform centers on funding schools, confronting developers and defending immigrant communities.
Still, all three candidates have fairly similar policy positions, emphasizing issues such as school funding, lowering housing costs and preserving parks and green spaces.
District 2
District 2 includes much of eastern Columbia, including the villages of Long Reach and Oakland Mills, and part of Elkridge. It is currently represented by County Council Chair Opel Jones, who is not running for re-election.
Arinze Ifekauche, a resident of Oakland Mills and former communications director for the Maryland Democratic Party, is focusing his campaign on the cost-of-living crisis in Howard County. Ifekauche’s proposals include a child care employee benefit program to reduce child care costs and a $20,000 property tax credit for downsizing seniors who sell their homes to first-time homebuyers.
Jessica Nichols, an Elkridge resident who is the 2024 Howard County Teacher of the Year, has the endorsement of Jones, as well as several other state and local politicians. Her policy proposals include fully funding county schools, grants for small businesses and increased affordable housing.
District 3
District 3 is in southeastern Howard County and includes North Laurel, Savage, part of Columbia and the Howard County portion of Jessup. It is represented by Council Vice Chair Christiana Rigby, who is the only member of the current council running for re-election. However, Rigby faces a primary challenge from Democratic socialist Amir Naviwala.
Naviwala, a resident of North Laurel, is a staunch critic of Israel’s actions in Palestine and supports a countywide ban on data centers. Other issues in Naviwala’s campaign include affordable housing, establishing community health centers, providing low-interest loans to small businesses and increasing funding for food pantries.
Like her legislative record, Rigby’s campaign has focused on government transparency, smart growth and school funding. She also sponsored legislation that temporarily paused new data center development in Howard County while county officials updated regulations governing the industry.
District 4
District 4, in central Howard County, includes much of Columbia and parts of Clarksville, Fulton and North Laurel. It is represented by Council Member Deb Jung, who is running for county executive and will step down from the council at the end of her term.
Janssen Evelyn, a resident of Hickory Ridge, previously challenged Jung in the 2022 Democratic primary for District 4. Evelyn, who worked in Anne Arundel County as the first executive director of the county’s Office of Police Accountability, has been endorsed by Gov. Wes Moore and six members of the Maryland General Assembly.
Linfeng Chen is a Howard County at-large school board member from North Laurel who emigrated to the U.S. from China in 2002. Themes of his campaign include education and public safety.
Regina Clay is the former Howard County district manager for the late U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings and the owner of a consulting business. A Columbia resident for 50 years, Clay’s campaign platform includes protecting green spaces and expanding access to health care.
Shamieka Preston is an activist who became known for her opposition to the planned W.R. Grace plastics recycling facility in Columbia. Preston is running as a progressive and supports constructing more affordable housing and increasing funding for schools.
District 5
District 5 encompasses the western half of Howard County and is more rural and conservative than the other four districts. It is currently represented by David Yungmann, the only Republican on the County Council.
Yungmann is not running for re-election, and West Friendship resident Ryan O’Connor is uncontested in the Republican primary to replace him. O’Connor has previously worked in finance and as the leader of a homeowner’s association and is critical of what he sees as “overdevelopment and rising taxes” in Howard County, but he has not released policy proposals on his website.
O’Connor is the only Republican running for county office in 2026.
The two Democrats in the race are Cat Carter, a former PTA council president, and Felita Phillips, a former member of the Howard County Board of Appeals. Carter’s policy proposals include increasing funding for schools and preserving parks and green spaces.
Phillips resigned from the Board of Appeals last year, along with two other members of the board, after a conflict with council members Liz Walsh and Deb Jung. Her campaign emphasizes diversity and inclusion, but her website is otherwise light on policy proposals.
County Executive
Four candidates are running for Howard County executive, all Democrats.
Liz Walsh is a member of the Howard County Council representing the Ellicott City-based District 1. Walsh is running as a progressive, with proposals to expand affordable housing, restrict ICE activity around schools and other government buildings and expand green spaces in the county. Walsh has secured endorsements from Del. Terri Hill (District 12A), former Maryland state Sen. Jill Carter and several local progressive groups.
Deb Jung is the current representative for District 4 on the Howard County Council. Jung supports the construction of new public schools, affordable housing and protection of parks and green spaces.
Vanessa Atterbeary, a former state delegate, is the candidate of choice for Maryland’s most prominent Democrats. She has picked up endorsements from Gov. Wes Moore, U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks and current Howard County Executive Calvin Ball, among others. Themes of Atterbeary’s campaign include opposition to Donald Trump and increasing funding for schools.
Atterbeary has drawn criticism from Jung and Walsh for taking donations from W.R. Grace & Co., a company that has been criticized by residents for developing a plastic recycling plant close to residential areas in Columbia. In an interview with Maryland Reporter, Atterbeary pushed back on claims that she was engaging in “pay-to-play.”
“That’s offensive to my 11-year career in public office,” she said.
Bob Cockey, a restaurant owner from Elkridge, previously ran for state Senate as a Republican, losing to Sen. Clarence Lam. Now, Cockey is running for county executive as a conservative Democrat. His platform includes issues such as affordable housing, expanding health care facilities and “fiscal responsibility.” In an interview with The Baltimore Sun, Cockey described himself as a “common-sense candidate” and said he hoped to get along with Democrats and Republicans equally.
Other Resources
If you didn’t find what you need above, here are some other places to look:
The Local News Network at the University of Maryland has a voter guide for state races, as does Maryland Matters.
The Baltimore Sun has voter guides to the Howard County Council and county executive races behind a (cheap) paywall.
The Banner has a Prince George’s County voter guide, which includes these races as well as state and county races outside our coverage area. It is behind a (cheap) paywall.
The PTA Council of Howard County has debates between county executive, County Council, state delegate and Board of Education candidates on its YouTube channel. The Howard County Citizens Association has a debate between County Council candidates on its YouTube channel (does not include all candidates).