Maryland General Assembly staff member Jeremiah Pope will run for an At-large seat on the Montgomery County Council, the Silver Spring resident confirmed to Bethesda Today on Friday. Pope unsuccessfully ran for the District 5 seat in the 2022 Democratic primary.
“I plan on running because I’m ready to lead Montgomery County into a brighter future for all of us,” Pope told Bethesda Today in a statement Friday.
Pope, 44, serves as chief of staff for Del. Charlotte Crutchfield (D-Dist. 19) in the Maryland General Assembly. He is also the founder of J. Pope Consulting, a campaign fundraising strategy consulting firm based in Washington, D.C.
Montgomery Perspective first reported Jan. 13 that Pope had established a public financing account and a campaign committee to run for the At-large seat.
Pope joins the field with former Montgomery County Democratic party chair Scott Goldberg and Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D), who announced in November that he plans to run for an At-large council seat. Elrich has not officially filed campaign paperwork.
Elrich is facing his final two years in office after voters passed a term-limit referendum on Election Day that amends the county charter to restrict the county executive to serving two terms. Elrich is serving the second year of his second four-year term, which will end in 2026.
The shake-up caused by the referendum’s passage has led to speculation about whether current councilmembers will run for the opening county executive seat. Speculation has centered around council Vice President Will Jawando (D-At-large) and councilmembers Evan Glass (D-At-large) and Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1) as potential contenders. None of the three have confirmed nor denied consideration of a run.
All current councilmembers will be up for reelection in 2026, except for councilmember Sidney Katz (D-Dist. 3), who is serving his third and final term.