Montgomery County Councilmember Andrew Friedson (D-Dist. 1) appears to be leading the pack when it comes to money in the race for Montgomery County executive, with more than $1 million in campaign fundraising, according to state finance reports.
The exact amount of Friedson’s war chest could not be determined this week, but Friedson, 39, had a balance of $1,056,884 earlier this year, according to his last report filed Jan. 15 with the Maryland Board of Elections. Friedson is taking a traditional approach to campaign fundraising through the state elections board reporting system, which allows him to carry over money raised during previous campaigns and to take contributions from corporations and political action committees (PACs). Friedson announced his candidacy on June 11.
The amount of funds raised by his two leading opponents, council Vice President Will Jawando (D-At-large) and councilmember Evan Glass (D-At-large), could not be determined as of this week as they have not been reported in state campaign finance databases.
Both Glass and Jawando have opted to participate in the county’s public campaign financing system. This means they can receive $6 for each dollar of the first $50 of a qualifying contribution received from a county resident, $4 for each dollar for the second $50 and $2 for each dollar for the third $50 from the public election fund. The maximum limit on public funds is $750,000. These amounts are different for council candidates.
In exchange for participating in this system, candidates must refuse to accept contributions from groups, organizations and corporations. This includes PACs, local central action committees for political parties and labor unions.
The three councilmembers are running in the the June 23, 2026 Democratic gubernatorial primary to replace County Executive Marc Elrich (D), who is facing his final two years in office after voters passed a term-limit referendum in November 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.
Glass, 48, announced his candidacy March 12 in an exclusive interview with Bethesda Today. He filed a statement of intent to qualify for the county’s public campaign fund with the state elections board on June 16, according to board records. Campaign finance information for Glass was not available as of Friday afternoon.
Glass has claimed that he has qualified for public financing faster than any previous county executive candidate. According to his campaign staff, Glass intends to file a report by the end of the month when the state law allows for funds to be disbursed.
“Our grassroots campaign is focused on solving problems, not special interests. I appreciate all the Montgomery County residents who continue supporting our publicly financed campaign,” Glass said in an email statement to Bethesda Today about his campaign financing.
A spokesperson for the county’s public financing program did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Bethesda Today on Friday to confirm Glass and Jawando’s eligibility for the program.
Jawando, 42, announced his run at a May 21 event. Jawando and members of his campaign staff have confirmed to Bethesda Today that he intends to use the county’s public financing system. However, no records that Jawando may have filed for the program are available in state election boards records.
A spokesperson for Jawando did not respond to requests for comment from Bethesda Today by Friday afternoon.
By opting to use the county’s public financing system, Glass and Jawando are not able to carry over funds from previous campaigns as Friedson can. That gives Friedson a preliminary financial advantage.
When Elrich publicly endorsed Jawando at the May 21 event, both politicians appeared to attack Friedson and the size of his campaign war chest.
“You cannot elect a county executive who already has millions of dollars from developers,” Elrich said while endorsing Jawando.
Jawando expressed a similar sentiment, urging those in attendance to donate to his campaign.
“One of my opponents has $1 million funded by developers,” he said.
According to Friedson’s finance reports, contributions to his campaign in late 2024 and the beginning of this year included a mix of smaller and larger monetary donations, some from community members, but others linked to names associated with housing and commercial developers.
Large contributions of $3,000 or more reported from people involved in the real estate industry include a combined $12,000 from Scott and Jillian Copeland of Rockville-based RST Development; a combined $7,000 from Andy, Bradley and Jeff Chod of Minkoff Development Corporation; $6,000 from Ruben Bajaj, president and CEO of Bethesda-based developer White Star Investments; $6,000 from Bethesda-based Cornerstone Capital, LLC; $6,000 from Marc Solomon of Finmarc Management; $5,000 from Bethesda’s In-Rel Properties; $3,500 from Washington, D.C.-based Five Squares Development; $3,500 from Arnold Polinger, president of Bethesda-based Polinger Company developers and $3,000 from Cathy Bernard, president of HCM Corporation real estate management and investment firm in Hyattsville.
Friedson defended his use of traditional fundraising in an interview with Bethesda Today at his campaign launch event on Sunday.
“This is a grassroots campaign. We have been building support even in the last couple of weeks, from every corner of Montgomery County,” he said. “We have small-dollar contributions that we have received from every corner of our community, and I’m extremely proud of that.”
