You don’t campaign to become Maryland’s first woman county executive without attracting a few objections to your gender.

Such opposition “really backfired,” recalled Liz Bobo, who in 1986 captured 63% of the vote over her male opponent to win the race for Howard County executive.

Nearly 40 years have passed since Bobo broke through this glass ceiling, yet no woman has done it again in Howard County, let alone a woman of color.

“I find it disappointing,” Bobo said of the imbalance. “I don’t know if I find it surprising.”

Next year could change that.

County Executive Calvin Ball, a Democrat, is term-limited, leaving his office up for grabs. All four Democrats who have entered the race — Del. Vanessa Atterbeary, Del. Jessica Feldmark, Council member Deb Jung and Council member Liz Walsh — are women. A victory for Atterbeary would make her the first Black woman to serve as county executive.

To be sure, more candidates of any gender, race or party could emerge before the Feb. 24 filing deadline. However, the all-women roster is significant for a jurisdiction that hasn’t seen a woman run for county executive since Courtney Watson unsuccessfully took on Republican Allan Kittleman in 2014.

The surge for the next election can be traced to “The Year of the Woman” in 2018, when women nationwide launched campaigns in record numbers. Many were galvanized by President Donald Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton and the impact of the #MeToo movement.

Three of the women running for Howard County executive participated in that wave in 2018. Feldmark, a former county administrator, won a seat in the House of Delegates representing District 12, which includes portions of Howard and Anne Arundel counties. Jung and Walsh were also first-time candidates who won seats on the Howard County Council.

A second Trump term has again motivated the women to pursue public office, this time aiming for the county’s top elected position.

“Everything is a women’s issue,” Walsh said. “I can’t afford to just hunker down and wait it out.”

The county is home to an estimated 50,000 federal workers and contractors, many of whom are impacted by the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the government. The federal shutdown also has furloughed some county residents, and return-to-office orders have strained the county’s child care infrastructure.

“Women don’t think of their gender first when they make a decision to run,“ Jung said. ”They think about their experience, what they have to bring to the office and what they can bring to their constituents.”

On the campaign trail, Feldmark said, she’s hearing deep concerns from residents that the Trump administration is eroding their civil, reproductive and voting rights.

“People are really looking for their local leaders to stand up for our shared values,” she said.

Howard County voters swung overwhelmingly for Kamala Harris in 2024. Although Harris lost her bid to become the first woman to be president, she garnered nearly 69% of Howard’s vote.

Atterbeary said representation matters in Howard County, where Census estimates put the population of 335,000 at about 48% white, 20% African American, 20% Asian and 8% Hispanic.

“It’s definitely time our offices reflects the diversity of the community,” she said of her own bid to become the first Black woman to lead Howard County government.

Atterbeary lost her first campaign in 2010 to represent Montgomery County in the House of Delegates. In 2014, she ran again, this time in Howard County, and won a seat representing District 13, which includes parts of Columbia, Savage, Fulton and Clarksville. She served in a number of high-profile leadership positions in the legislature and was dubbed “Mama Bear” on the House Judiciary Committee, where she served as vice chair.

Breaking through historical barriers to public office requires the right candidate at the right time, said C. Vernon Gray, who advised Atterbeary during her earlier campaign cycles. Gray made Howard County history in 1982 when he became the first Black person elected to the Council.

He credits his win to the work he put into building coalitions with other candidates, which at the time included then-Councilwoman Bobo.

Although women haven’t reached the county executive’s office in a generation, he said, “every little step we take is progress.”

Jung and Walsh plan to tap the county’s relatively new Citizens’ Election Fund, which encourages candidates to rely on small, private donations and forbids accepting contributions from political action committees, corporations, businesses, labor organizations or political parties.

“It levels the playing field,” Jung said.

Walsh believes the Citizens’ Election Fund complements a candidate’s philosophy more than their gender.

The greater hurdle, she said, is people underestimating her potential. Walsh recalled that primarily other women offered the first-time candidate mentorship and volunteer hours in 2018.

She also doesn’t believe women candidates need special treatment from voters.

“That’s bonkers talk,” she said.

After all, a ballot of exclusively women suggests that gender is one thing voters won’t consider when it comes time to choose Howard County’s next executive.

“For once,” Jung said, “the candidates will not be judged as a woman versus a man running for office.”