Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando announces run for Senate

WASHINGTON — Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando is running for U.S. Senate.

Cardin has served in the Senate since 2006 when he won a seat to replace retiring Democrat Paul Sarbanes. Before that, he was a congressman who represented a large part of Baltimore and several nearby suburbs, winning his first U.S. House race in 1986.

Jawando announced his candidacy in what is expected to be a competitive primary for Democrats in the blue-leaning state of Maryland.

"I'm very excited and humbled to be announce today that I will be running for U.S. Senate in the state of Maryland," Jawando told WUSA9 Tuesday morning.

Jawando said he is running for Senate to push the idea of shared prosperity.

"You have people that are pushing what I call the big lie, that if my neighbor does well, I have to do worse, and I just reject that," he said. "We can all have shared prosperity, and we can do it and model it here in Maryland."

He said he hopes to work with lawmakers from across the aisle. He said a fresh voice is needed in the Senate.

"I have a bold, progressive vision. But I do it with my arms wide open. There is no solution that we can't come to together," he said. 

Jawando grew up in Silver Spring, the child of a white mother and Nigerian-immigrant father who divorced when he was young. He is a civil rights activist and attorney, a former Capitol Hill staffer and Obama White House political appointee.

"Dad and husband are certainly my favorite titles," Jawando told WUSA9 last year. "At the end of the day, I'm a Montgomery County kid who's trying to help other people."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jawando started an online story time on Facebook Live for kids who weren't having their literary needs met while doing remote learning. It's one example of the mentoring skills he's brought to bear over the course of his career and the kind he encourages others to get involved with. 

Jawando's book "My Seven Black Fathers" serves as a how-to guide and a roadmap to navigating and creating successful mentor relationships.

"A call to action to be open to receive these relationships. It's a two-way street. And then to engage and enable more of these relationships," Jawando told WUSA9 last year. "The call to action is that we need more of these people. Policy, practice and personal. If you're someone who hasn't mentored, don't be scared by the word. It doesn't have to be formal."  

In his book, Jawando writes about his time serving Senator, candidate and then President Barack Obama. Obama was one of Jawando's "seven Black fathers" and he leaned on the Chicago community organizer for guidance. 

"[Obama] is really helpful. Helping navigate my role as husband and father in the context of someone who really didn't have their biological father to draw on," said Jawando. "That was something that, both by example and later personal connection and conversations we would have later in our relationship, that he was really helpful for me."

As for other potential successors to Cardin, there are a handful of names that have been mentioned. Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski, Rep. Jamie Raskin and Rep. David Trone among them. 

Trone joined Cardin in North Potomac on Monday to present a check for more than $2 million to the Pleasant View Historical Site.

Cardin would not elaborate on any endorsements but did say he hopes whoever takes his seat will be the ultimate team player.

“I take a lot of pride in Team Maryland. We work together as a team,” he explained, “Chris Van Hollen and I have worked seamlessly together with all the members of the congressional delegation, that pays off big dividends for people in Maryland. We’ve been able to get a lot more done for the Chesapeake Bay and for local communities, so I hope that whoever fills my seat will recognize the value of that - individual personal efforts but also working together as a team to get things done.”

Democrats currently hold a 51-49 majority in the Senate. Maryland has not elected a Republican senator since 1980.

Melissa Kim and The Associated Press contributed to this report.