2026 Howard County Primary Election Guide
Who you should vote for if you want to see Howard County Grow and Thrive
If you just want a quick table of my recommendations, click here.
This piece is my guide to the 2026 Howard County Maryland Primary Elections. If you aren’t voting in Howard County or otherwise interested in this suburb of both DC and Baltimore, this piece may not be for you.
Functionally, this is a set of recommendations on who to vote for in the Democratic Primary. All but one of the races I discuss below will, in all likelihood, be easy wins for Democrats come November.
My first piece of advice in this piece: If you live in Howard County and are currently a registered Republican or Independent I strongly advise you to change your party registration.
I do not like that we live in a system where closed primaries are the only election that matters, but that’s just how it is. If you want a say in the elections that affect your life most directly — which you should — you just have to register as a Democrat. It serves no one for your voice to be silenced by virtue of your party registration.
Before we get started, do me a favor and check what district you live in for county council and state delegation, if you don’t already know. Now let’s get to it — but first why should you care what I have to say?
Who I Am
I am a current resident of Montgomery County, but I grew up in Howard County. Most of my early years were spent in a beautiful home in Ellicott City where my parents have lived the last 22 years. I work professionally in housing policy, I am active in local Montgomery County politics, and I write this data focused blog on housing and transportation.
Most of my friends and family still live in HoCo, which is really why I’m writing this piece. It’s the set of recommendations I’ve made to friends and family for the last two cycles in Maryland since I’ve been old enough to vote — but public this time.
I think this guide provides a useful perspective in a convenient format. Feel free to skip around to the races that are relevant to you and I really encourage you to send this piece to anyone you know who could use some guidance in making sense of their ballot.
How I decide on candidates
I’ll go over the county executive race and each of the 5 county council elections in Howard County first. Then, I’ll get to all the other things that will be on your ballot. The decisions you make in the county elections are the most impactful things you’ll vote on since there are very few other competitive races.
How much I talk about each race will be dependent on the dynamics of the race. If there is an obvious winner I won’t waste your or my time and just quickly review the race. If it’s highly competitive, we’ll dig in and try to be strategic in deciding who to vote for.
I’m largely basing my candidate selections on my evaluation of 3 different candidate questionnaires from different organizations: People Acting Together in Howard County (PATH), the Housing Affordability Coalition1, and the Howard County Chamber of Commerce. I’ll mix in voting records or other statements where relevant, but one thing to keep in mind is that for a lot of local elections, candidates have very little track record to speak of, at least as elected representatives. There’s also little if any polling on these races, so evaluations of who’s likeliest to win will be based on incumbency, endorsements, and fundraising.
Housing, Housing, Housing
My number one policy priority in this election is housing, by a long shot. Housing is the largest item on the vast majority of families’ budgets and it is ruinously expensive in Howard County. The average home in Howard County is valued at over $638k and average monthly rent in the county is close to $2,300. These high costs of housing are largely caused by local land-use policy in Howard County and similar restrictions throughout central Maryland.
Zoning law has functionally outlawed any housing other than single family detached homes on the vast majority of residential land, leading to a massive undersupply of housing in most of the places people want to live. What housing stock exists is overwhelmingly of just one shape and size.
While Howard County is a fabulously wealthy county — the 6th richest county in the country in the 2020 Census — an overly restrictive housing market is bad, even for the county’s most fortunate residents. My parents are a prime example of this. In many ways, they are direct beneficiaries of the restrictive market, as their home has doubled in value since they bought it. But still, the lack of supply harms them.
It harms them by first delaying their children’s independence and second by pushing their kids further away when they finally leave. And now that their nest is empty, it leaves them with vanishingly few options in their community for housing which would better fit their future. I see this same dynamic at play with countless others from my home town.
There are some other issues I care about in this election. I think prioritizing walkable and bikeable transportation infrastructure in strategic locations is important for the county’s future. Obviously schools are an important responsibility of local government, as is law enforcement. But housing is the number one issue on which I’ll evaluate which candidates to support, because it’s the most important issue where votes on the council can have major impacts on their constituent’s — and future constituent’s — lives.2
Specifically, I look for candidates that prioritize knocking down the regulatory barriers which stand in the way of housing construction. This means advocating for policies like legalizing denser housing types (townhouses, plexes, apartments) in more places, eliminating minimum parking requirements, and raising height limits. It means simplifying and expediting the permitting process and allowing far more residential construction by-right. And it means doing all these things without overly strict Affordable Housing requirements that make projects unprofitable.3 There’s a place for more funding for subsidized housing and other more creative solutions, but the primary issue is the outright ban on most market-rate housing construction.
If your priorities differ from mine your mileage may vary on the recommendations I make. Still, this should still be a helpful roundup of the races.
County Executive
Recommendation: Vote for Vanessa Atterbeary
There are 4 Democratic candidates for county executive. Former State Delegate Vanessa Atterbeary, current Howard County Councilmembers Deb Jung and Liz Walsh, and Restaurateur Bob Cockey. Atterbeary appears to be the favorite, as she’s recently been endorsed by governor Wes Moore and she leads the field in fundraising.
I wouldn’t describe any of the 4 candidates as true standouts on housing. Deb Jung has a mixed record in her council votes while Liz Walsh has shown herself to be completely opposed to building basically any housing anywhere in the county. Cockey’s questionnaire responses are uninspiring with too much of a focus on homeownership and opposition to upzoning.
Atterbeary doesn’t have much of a track record on housing specifically, but she’s been saying a lot of the right things on the trail. Her questionnaire responses focused on zoning fixes and speeding up permitting but with an unfortunately heavy-handed approach to affordability requirements. Still she’s easily the best of the field, and given she’s likely leading the pack I think it best to vote for her to ensure we avoid a disastrous Walsh win.
County Council
District 1
Recommendation: Vote for Kevin Chin
This primary for the open seat vacated by Liz Walsh is a three-way race between Emergency Physician Kevin Chin, community advocate Jean Xu, and Assistant Attorney General in Maryland's Attorney General's office James Handley (who happens to be my friend’s neighbor).
I have little insight on who’s most likely to win this race since they’re all political newcomers. On the issues though, Chin’s questionnaire answers are easily the strongest in this race and among the strongest of someone running for any seat. He has a clear focus on legalizing more housing by-right, eliminating parking mandates, and a lot more interesting ideas. Xu is okay on housing while Handley emphasizes strict affordability requirements and has said very little on more systemic fixes. Given his strong set of endorsements, I’m praying Kevin Chin can win this race - he would be a fantastic addition to the council.
District 2
Recommendation: Vote for Jessica Nichols
This is a two way race between former Teacher of the Year Jessica Nichols and Communications Director in an Office of the Governor Arinze Ifekauche. Nichols seems like the likely winner with a slew of endorsements for the seat including outgoing councilmen Opel Jones. On the issues Nichols seems slightly better though her questionnaire responses weren’t standout. Ifekauche seems quite hung-up on gimmicky solutions for housing like a rent-to-own plan for county employees and a bizarre “First Time Downsizer Program”. I’m going with Nichols.
District 3
Recommendation: Vote for Christiana Rigby
Christiana Rigby is the sitting county council president and the only incumbent candidate for any county council race. She’s been a strong voice on the council for housing and has continued to advocate for good policy on the campaign trail. Her only challenger in the primary is small business owner Amir Naviwala. He has terrible ideas that aren’t worth your brain cells.4 Rigby is good and going to win.
District 4
Recommendation: Vote for Janssen Evelyn and shout it from the rooftops
This is a four way race to replace Deb Young. The candidates are at-large board of Education member and PHD Engineer Linfeng Chen, consultant Regina Clay, longtime local government worker in multiple MD counties Janssen Evelyn, and community advocate Shamieka Preston.
It’s really hard to know how a four way race like this will play out. My guess is that Chen is the most likely to win since he’s already won a county-wide race but Evelyn has an impressive list of local endorsements. The other two seem far less likely to win. Assuming this is a two-way race, my vote is for Evelyn, without a question.
Evelyn’s questionnaire answers on almost every topic were excellent in my view. He is the best candidate in any race on housing and called it “the central reason that [he] is running.” I also think his local government experience is a real asset as he seems extremely familiar with how county government works. And, most importantly; my grandmother plans on voting for him after attending a county council forum and being thoroughly impressed. If Grandma and I are in alignment, then you might as well join the party.
District 5
Recommendation: Vote for Cat Carter, I guess
District 5 is the only district currently represented by a Republican and will likely be the only competitive race come November. The sitting councilmember, David Yungmann, won his 2022 campaign with just 52% of the vote. Given the national political environment and the changes to this district, I think it may be a tall order for the presumptive Republican nominee for the seat, Ryan O’Conner, to retain the only GOP seat in the county, but it could be competitive.
That said, we’re discussing the Democratic primaries and in that race there are two more political newcomers; Local student advocate and PTA council president Cat Carter and community member Felita Philips. Philips questionnaire responses and campaign page show basically no understanding of the issues facing Howard County. Carter’s answers on housing are uninspiring but she seems reasonable enough on most issues, seems like a fairly good fit for the rural district, and does in fact have some understanding of county government. I’d unenthusiastically vote Carter in June.
State-Level Races
State-Wide Officials
Recommendation: Vote for Incumbents Wes Moore, Brooke Lierman, and Anthony Brown
The statewide races for Governor, Comptroller, and Attorney General all have strong incumbents seeking second terms and I advise voting for them — Wes Moore, Brook Lierman, and Anthony Brown respectively. They’ve all served the state fairly well, though I’ve certainly had my qualms with Wes Moore.
Montgomery County Can’t Afford Another Four Years of Stagnation
Wes Moore, and other influential Maryland Democrats made a slew of endorsements in recent days for upcoming Democratic primary elections throughout Maryland. In this piece I’m going to beg Montgomery County Voters not to listen to them. And make an appeal to Governor Wes Moore to spend some political capital for once.
District 9 - Senator and Delegates
Recommendations: Vote for Incumbents Katie Fry Hester (Senate), Natalie Ziegler and Chao Wu (9A), Courtney Watson (9B)
For the senate, incumbent Katie Fry Hester is running unopposed. She has an interesting legislative track record and she holds a special place in my heart. I worked on her thrilling 2018 campaign which saw her unseat a long-time republican senator — Gail Bates, one of the worst people I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting — by less than 3,000 votes. I also interned one state legislative session in her office in 2022.
In the House of Delegates races, in District 9 all three incumbents are running for reelection. Natalie Ziegler and Chao Wu — who are both great, especially Wu — are running unopposed for the 2 seats in 9A.
Courtney Watson is seeking a third term for the 9B seat and does have a primary challenger in Therapist and Democratic Socialist Abdun Matin. Matin’s questionnaire answers on housing are quite good and I don’t have any particular opposition to him. That said, Watson has increasingly been open to pushing firmer housing legislation at the state level and has the benefit of 8 years of experience. I’d vote Watson but wouldn’t begrudge a protest vote for Matin, though he’s extremely unlikely to win.
District 12 - Senator and Delegates
Recommendations: Vote for Incumbents Clarence Lam (Senate), Jessica Feldmark and Terri Hill (12A)
An incumbent seeking his third term in the Senate, Clarence Lam is running unopposed and will head back to Annapolis.
District 12A has both incumbents returning in Jessica Feldmark and Terri Hill. They have a challenger in lawyer Joshua Heard. Feldmark and Hill are completing deserving of additional terms.
District 12B is in Anne Arundel County.
District 13 - Senator and Delegates
Recommendations: Vote for Incumbents Guy Guzzone (Senate), Pam Guzzone, Gabriel Moreno, and Amy Brooks (House of Delegates)
Guy Guzzone will return for a fourth term as district 13 Senator as he’s running unopposed.
Lastly, in district 13 there are 3 candidates for the 3 house of delegates seats, making it another unopposed primary. Incumbents Pam Guzzone and Gabriel Moreno will return to their seats. Teacher and community advocate Amy Brooks will replace the current delegate Jen Teresa who was appointed after Vanessa Atterbeary resigned the seat in 2026 to focus on her county executive campaign.
A quick reflection on the state races
I frankly find these races a bit depressing. The state government has been completely clueless on actually tackling the issues that matter most, but given the number of returning incumbents I don’t see much potential for change on that front. I’d describe most of them as anywhere from fine to good, but none that are pushing real change for the state, least of all on housing. That’s partially what makes the open races for county council/executive so important.
Everything Else
Just quickly running through the remaining elections on your ballot quickly:
For Judge of the 5th Circuit Court, Maurice Frazier is running unopposed.
The aforementioned Jen Teresa is running unopposed for Judge of the 1st Circuit court.
Also unopposed in their races are Rich Gibson (State’s Attorney) and Marcus Harris (Sheriff).
Incumbent Register of Wills Byron Macfarlane does have a challenger in Ajile Brown, but unless there’s some scandal I don’t know about I’d go with Macfarlane.
That’s everything. If you’d like to check out my regular work on housing and transportation analysis, you should subscribe.
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Just want to quickly shoutout the Housing Affordability Coalition. They do great work in the county and built a great tool for exploring candidates answers to a bunch of important questions. If you want more details on candidate positions, I highly recommend it.
While I’m focusing on the county government here, my priorities at the state level are quite similar, though the policy solutions look somewhat different.
Affordable housing requirements, often called inclusionary zoning, generally require a certain number of units in new construction to have rent affordable to low-income households. If these programs do not come with other incentives, such policy often has the effect of increasing the prices in non-subsidized units and can often lead to lower new supply because fewer projects make financial sense. For example, a study of policies in the Baltimore-Washington region found that inclusionary zoning requirements, including those which came with some incentives, increased prices for non-subsidized units and did not help add more units overall.
A quote from his Housing Affordability Coalition questionnaire: “We need to build high speed rail in this country so we can increase the suburban sprawl outwards where land is more plentiful and cheaper. We can’t keep crowding the same suburban spaces.” What a solution.
I absolutely agree about the housing situation in HoCo, but Atterbeary is NOT the solution. You know how they say "Follow the money?" I definitely recommend this approach with her. Atterbeary is very cozy with and receiving huge donations and support from some people who are very happy with the way things are right now, ie. developers and big business. She's being financially supported by the SAME people who support the current regime. They do NOT want change because it works for them....not the people. We need housing, but we also desperately need infrastructure to support it, and this is of NO CONCERN to these people, as it doesn't affect them. Where's the profit in taking care of people? FOLLOW THE MONEY. See who supports her and who they are connected to in the current admin. Look at who they attack the hardest, because that's who they know could make real changes in their profit system. Atterbeary is status quo. We need change, someone who is NOT elbow-deep into the pockets of wealthy donors.