2026 Candidate Survey Results

2026 General Election: Early Voting - Thursday, October 22, 2026 through Thursday, October 29, 2026
Election Day - Tuesday November 3, 2026

Candidate responses to a survey focusing on LGBTQ+ issues are linked below. Please click on the individual candidates' names to view their responses.

About the survey:

  • The questionnaire was emailed to all County Executive, County Council, and Board of Education candidates on March 16, 2026 to the email addresses listed on the Maryland State Board of Elections website. Board of Education candidates received questions focused on LGBTQ+ youth and the County Executive and County Council received questions addressing broader LGBTQ+ issues.

  • Candidates were informed that the due date of their responses would be April 17, 2026.

  • A reminder was sent on April 13, 2026 to all candidates about the due date.

  • Candidate responses are provided in their entirety as submitted by the candidate and are for informational purposes. CARY is a registered 501(c)(3) organization and therefore does not endorse any political candidates.

Candidates in the General Election:

Board of Education (at large)

Mark Covington

Linda Frascarella

Lanlan Xu

County Council District 5

Cat Carter - Did not complete CARY survey

Ryan O'Connor - Did not complete CARY survey

Candidates in the Primary Election:

County Executive - No General Election Race

Vanessa Atterbeary

Bob Cockey

Deb Jung

Liz Walsh

County Council District 1 - No General Election Race

Kevin Chin

James Handley

Jean Xu

County Council District 2 - No General Election Race

Arinze Ifekauche

Jessica Nichols

County Council District 3 - No General Election Race

Christiana Rigby

Amir Naviwala - Did not complete CARY survey

County Council District 4 - No General Election Race

Linfeng Chen

Regina Clay

Janssen Evelyn

Shamieka Preston

County Council District 5

Cat Carter - Did not complete CARY survey

Felita Phillips - Did not complete CARY survey

Ryan O'Connor - Did not complete CARY survey