Although the 2026 campaign for Baltimore County Executive is more than one year away, two Democratic Council members who are seriously considering running already have more than $1 million to spend on the campaign.
According to campaign finance reports filed earlier this month, Councilman Izzy Patoka has nearly $1.3 million on hand. Councilman Julian Jones has just over $1 million.
Jones said, “Somebody said to me the other day, ‘when are you going to announce because this is the biggest unkept secret in Baltimore County.’”
“There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t get a phone call, or I don’t get a text, or I don’t get an email, or I don’t get a Facebook message where someone is encouraging me to run for County Executive,” Patoka said.
The Democratic nomination is expected to be fiercely competitive. Besides Jones and Patoka, others who are considering getting in the race include Councilman Pat Young, State Sen. Charles Sydnor and Nick Stewart, co-founder of We The People, a good government advocacy group. All of them lag far behind Jones and Patoka in fundraising.
There will be a new wrinkle in 2026. Public financing will be available for the first time. A candidate for county executive is eligible for up to $750,000 in matching funds.
The last competitive race for the Democratic nomination was in 2018, when Johnny Olszewski defeated two other candidates. That contest cost each candidate around $1 million. Observers are predicting this time around the cost could land between $1.5 and $2 million.
Jones said political races aren’t all about money, pointing to last year’s race for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate. Angela Alsobrooks won that contest although she was far outspent by David Trone.
“If the people aren’t buying what you’re selling, I don’t care how much money you have,” Jones said.
Both Jones and Patoka have been in a strong position for years to raise money. Jones has served on the County Council since 2014. Patoka has been a councilman since 2018.
County Executive Kathy Klausmeier has pledged not to run in 2026. Council members earlier this month picked her to replace Olszewski, who resigned to take a seat in Congress that he won in November.
