Regardless of what is happening on the national stage, local elections matter. Who is in power shapes what we can achieve in policy campaigns and how governments respond when communities are threatened and attacked. That’s why the JUFJ Campaign Fund was founded, and why our members worked hard this year to support candidates and ballot measures in the primary and general elections in DC, Montgomery County, Baltimore City and County, and Virginia. We are thrilled to report that every ballot measure we supported won, 10 out of 13 of our top-ranked primary election endorsees won, and every one of our general election endorsees won (or leads with votes still being counted). Across the region, this is the JUFJ Campaign Fund’s most successful election cycle since we were founded in DC in 2014.
Here’s some of what our work, alongside our partners and the candidates, achieved so far this year:
DC
All seven candidates the JUFJ Campaign Fund ranked first won their races: Janeese Lewis George for Mayor, Robert White for Delegate, Brian Schwalb for Attorney General, Oye Owolewa for Council At-Large, Aparna Raj for Council Ward 1, Zachary Parker for Council Ward 5, and Charles Allen for Council Ward 6.
The JUFJ Campaign Fund was the very first organization to endorse Janeese Lewis George for Mayor, we played a critical role in enabling thousands of Jewish residents to understand and support her, and we are proud of all the organizing we did to support her transformative campaign, which won seven out of eight of DC’s wards:
- Hosted 16 canvases, filled over 100 canvassing shifts, and knocked on over 3,000 doors
- Organized seven candidate meet and greets
- Produced a voter guide and other endorsement materials that were viewed, shared, and downloaded by over 1,800 people in DC
As Janeese Lewis George noted on election night, “Over the past year we assembled the most diverse coalition in this city’s history, united by a simple notion: that government must put people first.” We are so proud to be part of that coalition with all of you.
We are thrilled to report that our DC Director, Yael Shafritz, has been named co-chair of Mayor-Elect Lewis George’s Faith and Public Life transition committee alongside Rev. Dr. Anika Wilson-Brown of Union Temple Baptist Church.
Baltimore
Our Baltimore County endorsed candidate for State’s Attorney, Sarah David, ousted an entrenched incumbent in the primary by a stunning 28% margin and went on to win the general election. Sarah has worked to hold corrupt public officials accountable, and she is committed to an approach that treats children as children and connects people in mental health or substance abuse crises with support. The outgoing State’s Attorney has been a powerful voice against all reforms to the criminal legal system and police accountability in Maryland; Sarah David’s victory will help all Marylanders enjoy a more just justice system. We are proud and grateful to our JUFJ Campaign Fund community and our partners for personally contacting over 1,000 voters, donating, talking to friends and family about Sarah David, and working dozens of shifts at the polls. It’s organizing together like that that makes these wins possible.
In Baltimore City, our endorsed candidate for the non-partisan School Board, Ashley Esposito, received the most votes of all candidates in the race; the top two candidates will win seats on the Board. In her first term, she helped shape policies that centered on students with disabilities, multilingual learners, youth in foster care, and young people experiencing housing instability. She has asked the JUFJ Campaign Fund to be a long-term thought partner on antisemitism training and curriculum for the whole school system. In addition, Question F passed. This charter amendment, supported by the With Us, For Us coalition (which our sister organization, JUFJ, is a member of), will bring greater transparency and accountability to the City’s budget process.
Montgomery County
Our endorsed candidate for Montgomery County Executive, Will Jawando, won the most decisive primary victory that the County has seen in three election cycles, and we are excited that Councilmember Laurie-Anne Sayles will return to her Council At-Large seat.
In the general election, our endorsed candidate for Board of Education, Omar Lazo, holds a narrow lead over an extreme Republican candidate in a non-partisan race where votes are still being counted. The County Board of Education is a critical body for oversight of public schools, but many voters don’t have information about how to vote. We are thrilled that our members and partners stepped up to inform voters about Lazo’s vision for the district and the dangers of his anti-LGBTQ, anti-vaccine, anti-union opponent. Because of the margin in this closely fought race, it is clear that, if Lazo prevails, our collective work made the difference between electing an educator and electing a dangerous right-wing activist.
We are disappointed that Debbie Spielberg (District 1), Izola Shaw (District 3), and Fatmata Barrie (At-Large) lost their Council primaries, in some cases only by a few hundred votes, but we are very proud of the campaigns they ran and the organizing that our members did to support all of our endorsed candidates in the County. That included:
- Hosting 14 house parties
- Making over 1,500 phone calls
- Covering more than 260 hours of poll shifts
- Educating hundreds of voters about how local elections work
- A “dear neighbor” letter writing campaign that reached well over 2,000 households
Virginia
In Virginia, JUFJ and the Campaign Fund supported three constitutional amendments, both during the legislative session and during the general election. All three constitutional amendments passed the General Assembly in January and were approved by voters in November. These amendments will enshrine reproductive freedom, marriage equality, and voting rights for formerly incarcerated citizens in the state constitution. JUFJ joined the coalitions supporting all of these amendments and partnered with other Jewish organizations to phone bank and canvass for Question 1, the reproductive freedom amendment, throughout the early voting period, calling more than 2,500 voters.
What’s next?
We appreciate both Janeese Lewis George in DC and Will Jawando in Montgomery County for shouting out the impact that the JUFJ Campaign Fund and our members had on their races. Both of them told renowned local radio host Kojo Nnamdi that we were a critical part of the coalitions that helped them secure their historic victories.
With every voter you called, door you knocked, house party you planned, dollar you gave, neighbor or loved one you talked to, polling location shift you worked, and vote you cast, you made real the vision of a multi-racial democracy in our region. Thank you. And these victories show that one thing remains clear: no single election is the beginning or the end of our organizing. The work that we do builds relationships, and those relationships build coalitions, and those coalitions build movements that meaningfully advance justice in our region. The JUFJ Campaign Fund will continue to push the people who are in power to work for a region where everyone can thrive, no matter what happens on any given election day.
As we look forward to 2027, there are already crucial elections that we may get involved in. DC will have special elections to fill Council seats being vacated by Mayor-Elect Janeese Lewis George and Delegate-Elect Robert White. All seats in Virginia’s General Assembly will be up for election, as will local seats in Northern Virginia. Some cities in Montgomery County, including Rockville and Gaithersburg, have odd-year elections, and we are looking at whether or not to engage in these races (let our staff know if you’re excited to be part of this work). As the 2026 results demonstrate, JUFJ Campaign Fund members and our partners can make a tremendous difference in local and state elections. And support from people like you help make it all possible.
Will you consider making a donation to support our movement building, today? Let’s make sure this historic election leads to the next steps toward a truly just DC, Maryland, and Virginia.
