Democrat Jeremiah Pope, chief of staff for a Maryland General Assembly lawmaker, will officially file candidacy paperwork Tuesday to run for an At-large seat on the Montgomery County Council, he told Bethesda Today.
“Montgomery County is at a crossroads. We need common sense leadership that is going to address the housing affordability crisis, improve our public education, and support our community and police officers to reduce crime,” Pope said in a Monday morning press release announcing his filing. “It’s time to Reset, Renew, and Rebuild Montgomery County, back to a community we can all be proud of.”
According to the Montgomery County Board of Elections, the candidate filing period for the November 2026 gubernatorial election opens Tuesday and will close on Feb. 25, 2026. The offices of County Executive, County Council, State’s Attorney, Clerk of the Circuit Court, Register of Wills, Sheriff, the Montgomery County Board of Education (Districts 1, 3, 5, and At-Large), Republican Central Committee and Democratic Central Committee all have seats up for election.
Bethesda Today reported on Pope’s plans to run last month. Pope unsuccessfully ran for the District 5 seat in the 2022 Democratic primary.
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. He lives in Silver Spring with his wife and son and has lived in the county for more than 20 years, according to the press release.
Former Montgomery County Democratic party chair Scott Goldberg and Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D) have also publicly shared their intentions to run for At-large council seats.
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.
