Former State Senator Jim Brochin, who in 2018 lost the race for the Democratic nomination for Baltimore County Executive by 17 votes, is considering another run for the office.
Brochin said he is considering running as an independent this time around. He declined to be interviewed but said in a text that he is concerned about someone winning next year’s county executive race opening up the north county for development.
Roger Hartley, the Dean of the College of Public Affairs at the University of Baltimore, said Brochin does have some name recognition but to be credible he is going to have to raise money quickly.
“Third party candidates or independent candidates have a tall order,” Hartley said. “They’re butting up against two organized parties that have a lot of capacity to support candidates.”
Brochin wanted the county council to pick him to be county executive earlier this year to finish the term of Johnny Olszsewski. It was Olszewski who defeated Brochin in that razor-thin contest in 2018. Olszewski stepped down as county executive in January to take a seat in Congress.
The council chose then Sen. Kathy Klausmeier to finish the final two years of Olszewski’s term.
Running as an independent would mean Brochin could skip what is expected to be a crowded field vying for the Democratic nomination next June. Although it’s nearly one year away, the campaigns are raising money and looking for voters.
Here is who is in the Democratic race, who is about to enter, and who is out.
WHO IS IN
First District Councilman Pat Young and Nick Stewart, who co-founded the good governance group We The People-Baltimore County are in. Both could find it hard to compete financially with two well-financed candidates who are waiting in the wings.
Young has announced he is going to rely on public financing for his campaign. The 2026 race is the first time that option is available in Baltimore County. In a January 2025 campaign finance report. Young reported having more than $227,000 cash on hand.
Stewart has hired the same fundraiser as Gov. Wes Moore. When he announced his campaign in April, Stewart said he had raised nearly $150,000.
“He (Stewart) would have to raise a lot of money just to get name recognition out there because the others are just so well known,” said John Dedie,a political science professor at the Community College of Baltimore County.
WHO IS ABOUT TO BE IN
Two council members, Julian Jones and Izzy Patoka, have been planning to enter this race for years and have been busy raising money for it.
Jones is in his third four-year term on the county council. His January campaign finance report had him with just over $1 million in the bank and he has been steadily raising money since then.
Patoka, in his second term on the council, reported having nearly $1.3 million cash on hand in January and like Jones has been aggressively raising money since then.
WHO IS OUT
County Executive Kathy Klausmeier has promised not to run in 2026. That was the deal she cut with the county council before it appointed her to fill Olszewski’s unexpired term.
State Sen. Charles Synor was considering the race but told WYPR in June that instead he will run for reelection.
NO GOP CANDIDATE … YET
So far, no Republican has announced plans to run for county executive.
State Sen. Chris West has in the past considered running for the GOP nomination. When asked whether he might run in 2026 he said in a text, “No comment at this time.”
