The influential Montgomery County teachers union on Friday endorsed County Council member Will Jawando in the race for county executive.

The Montgomery County Education Association represents 14,000 teachers across more than 200 schools.

Support from the “Apple Ballot” will likely provide Jawando with a boost in name recognition and campaign resources.

“They’ve invested in our students and we have to keep investing in them. As county executive, MCEA will always have a partner in my office,” Jawando, who is chair of the County Council’s committee on education, said in a statement.

Jawando has sought to cast himself as the most progressive candidate in the field to replace outgoing County Executive Marc Elrich, whose term expires in December 2026. Elrich has also endorsed Jawando.

In a forum for candidates, Jawando said he would push for an income tax increase for those making more than $1 million.

He also has a history of calling for tax increases to boost education spending. In May, he pushed for a 0.1% income tax rate increase to fund Montgomery County Public Schools, but the County Council didn’t pass the measure.

The teachers union’s decision to support Jawando may not have always been a certainty.

In 2024, he endorsed and fundraised for a school board member, Shebra Evans, whom the union wanted off the board, as reported by the political blog Montgomery Perspective. The union-backed candidate, Laura Stewart, won the seat.

The union bases its endorsements, at least in part, on candidates’ responses to a questionnaire it sends them. This year, the union asked county executive candidates, “Will you refrain from endorsing non-Apple Ballot Board of Education candidates?”

Jawando, as well as fellow council member Evan Glass, is relying on the county’s public campaign financing program, under which candidates can receive money only from individual donors in amounts totaling $500 or less. The program provides a sliding scale of matching contributions from a county government fund.

Council member Andrew Friedson has relied on traditional campaign fundraising.

The teachers union also endorsed the following candidates:

• County Council District 1 – Julie Yang
• County Council District 3 – Izola Shaw
• County Council District 4 – Kate Stewart (incumbent)
• County Council District 5 – Kristin Mink (incumbent)
• County Council District 6 – Natali Fani-González (incumbent)
• County Council at-large – Fatmata Barrie
• County Council at-large – Josie Caballero
• County Council at-large – Marc Elrich
• County Council at-large – Laurie-Anne Sayles (incumbent)
• Board of Education District 1 – Grace Rivera-Oven (incumbent)
• Board of Education District 3 – Sally McCarthy
• Board of Education At-Large – Omar Lazo