I became a Democrat for Maryland and Israel

Commentary

By Anath Hartmann - The Washington Times - Wednesday, May 20, 2026

OPINION:

Two weeks ago, I became a Democrat.

I made the official party switch from Republican, an affiliation I’d had since I was 18, so that on June 23, I can vote in Maryland’s Democratic primaries.

That is how important this election is for Jews and the Jewish state. Among the Democratic candidates for various offices in deep-blue Montgomery County this year are strident Israel haters. If we elect them, we can expect antisemitism in the county to get worse, not better.

Montgomery County is, to borrow from county board member Daniel Koroma in 2022, “a microcosm of America.” Last year, it accounted for two-thirds of all antisemitic incidents in Maryland: 120 of 181, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

The county, home to nearly half of all Maryland Jews, also had the highest percentage of antisemitic incidents at non-Jewish primary and secondary schools.

Voting in Maryland’s Republican primaries is largely a Titanic deck-chair-arrangement situation. Since 1960, the state has voted for a Republican president just three times, last in 1988. It has voted for a Republican governor just three times since 1978.

Things are even worse in Montgomery County. There, in the past 55 years, 96% of all county council members — 65 of 68 — have been Democrats. The council has not elected a single Republican in the past 20 years.

Next month, Maryland voters go to the polls to choose a governor, an attorney general, state senators and delegates, and a county executive, among other offices. This year’s crop of candidates includes several Israel haters:

Josie Caballero, running for the at-large council seat, has said she supports the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement against Israel, has vowed not to talk to “Zionist groups,” opposes official adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s antisemitism definition, and has condemned Israel’s “genocide” and “apartheid.”
Will Jawando, running for county executive, has denounced antisemitic incidents but also called for a ceasefire just weeks after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. He has cited Hamas data in social media posts and “issued a public statement of concern” about the Maryland Israel Development Center, an organization that supports business between the Free State and Israel.
Amar Mukunda, running for the Maryland state Senate representing the 39th District, has said he is “appalled by Netanyahu’s conduct in Gaza” and “dehumanization of Palestinians.” I could find nothing from him on Hamas’ murders, rapes and torture of Israelis on Oct. 7.
Sunil Dasgupta, running for the Maryland state Senate representing the 19th District, has dodged questions on how he would respond to pressure from anti-Israel groups in office, saying only, “If elected, I will be open to learning from and working with any resident or group from D19 and Maryland, including Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, disabled, neurodiverse, LGBTQ+, and nonreligious.”

The list goes on. Suffice it to say, the above candidates cannot be relied upon to root out Jew hatred in Montgomery County. I call on registered Democrats living and voting in the county to research the candidates and vote accordingly next month.

• Anath Hartmann is deputy commentary editor for The Washington Times.