Editor’s note: This story was originally published at 11:21 a.m. on Feb. 12. It was updated at 9:43 a.m. on Feb. 13 to clarify that Bethany Mandel previously served in roles she originally was listed as currently serving in and include her campaign website.
While former Gov. Larry Hogan’s (R) Senate bid announcement dominated local news on Friday, he wasn’t the only candidate to enter a race shortly before the 9 p.m. deadline.
Here’s the list of who entered a last-minute bid:
Maryland Sixth Congressional District
Peter Choharis (D)
Choharis, who lives in Potomac, is the principal at Choharis Law Group in Washington, D.C., which specializes in U.S. litigation and international law. He does not have a campaign website.
Mohammad Mozumder (D)
Mozumber is retired from working for the U.S. Department of Energy, according to his LinkedIn page. He is running on a “free Palestine” platform and wants the U.S. to divest from funding Israel. He also supports expanding Metro and fighting inflation, according to his campaign website. He lives in Germantown.
Neil Parrott (R)
Parrott represented parts of Washington County as a District 2A delegate in the Maryland General Assembly. He ran for the seat in 2020 and 2022, both times losing to Rep. David Trone (D-Dist. 6). He lives in Hagerstown. He had previously launched an exploratory campaign for the seat, but did not officially file until Friday.
Adrian Petrus (D)
Petrus is a protective security officer with First Coast Security. He ran for the Maryland Seventh Congressional District in 2017 and came in last place in the primary. He does not have a campaign website. He lives in Hyattsville.
Kiambo “Bo” White (D)
White lives in Baltimore. He does not have a campaign website.
Altimont Wilks (D)
Wilks is the owner of Carmen’s Corner Store in Hagerstown, where he lives. He successfully sued the federal government in 2023 for denying business owners with a recent conviction from being Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) retailers. He does not have a campaign website.
Montgomery County Board of Education
At-large
Jonathan Long
Long lives in Germantown. He does not have a campaign website.
Rita Montoya
Montoya has two children attending Montgomery County Public Schools and is the PTA president at North Chevy Chase Elementary School. She is a small business and nonprofit adviser and a former lawyer. She’s running on a platform of “Accountability, Leadership, Oversight, and Transparency,” according to her campaign website. She lives in Silver Spring.
District 2
Brenda Diaz
Diaz is a former MCPS social studies teacher and now runs an educational consulting firm, BMD Educational Consulting Services. She does not have a campaign website. She lives in Gaithersburg.
Ricky Mui
Mui is a member of Rockville’s Human Services Advisory Commission, and was appointed in 2022, according to the City of Rockville. He works as a management consultant at Accenture consulting firm. He is a 12-year U.S. Navy veteran. He lives in Rockville and ran for Rockville City Council in 2023, but was not successful. He has a campaign website that has not been updated to reflect his school board run.
Aby Thioye
Thioye lives in Derwood and does not have a campaign website.
Natalie Zimmerman
Zimmerman lives in Rockville and does not have a campaign website.
District 4
Bethany Mandel
Mandel is a conservative political commentator who previously wrote for Deseret News. She is the co-author of “Stolen Youth: How Radicals Are Erasing Innocence and Indoctrinating a Generation.” She previously was an editor for a children’s book publishing company called Heroes of Liberty. She lives in Silver Spring and homeschools her children. According to her campaign website, her main issues include merit and test scores, school choice, safety, responsible financial stewardship and MCPS climate.
A list of candidates who filed by Feb. 5 is available here.