← Election Series · Down-ballot coverage · Maryland
No endorsement
The race
This school board election is on the November 3, 2026 general-election ballot in Montgomery County Public Schools (Montgomery County). 4 seat(s) are at stake in Board of Education At-Large, District 1, District 3 and District 5 - Nov 3 2026.
Four seats are on the November 3 ballot, but only two are contests, per the Maryland State Board of Elections candidate list as reported by Moderately MOCO (lead grade): the at-large seat and District 3 are each head-to-head, while District 1 and District 5 each have a single candidate and are unopposed. We print the unopposed seats as unopposed.
The verified roster is: Brenda M. Diaz; Omar Lazo (At-Large); Sally McCarthy; Cassandra Sung (District 3); Grace Rivera-Oven (District 1); Elma-Lorraine Diggs (District 5).
The candidates
Brenda M. Diaz — At-large candidate, in a two-candidate race, per the state elections list as reported. No platform or endorsement was verified in this pass.
Omar Lazo — At-large candidate, in a two-candidate race, per the state elections list as reported. No platform or endorsement was verified in this pass.
Sally McCarthy — District 3 candidate, in a two-candidate race, per the state elections list as reported. No platform or endorsement was verified in this pass.
Cassandra Sung — District 3 candidate, in a two-candidate race, per the state elections list as reported. No platform or endorsement was verified in this pass.
Grace Rivera-Oven — District 1 candidate, unopposed, per the state elections list as reported.
Elma-Lorraine Diggs — District 5 candidate, unopposed, per the state elections list as reported.
Pros / Cons
- Pro, for the field as a whole: every name printed above is on a sourced roster for this race — a voter can verify each candidacy from the source named below. Con, for the field as a whole: beyond the roster, no sourced record — no platform, no board votes, no named-organization endorsement aligned with parental rights, curriculum transparency, fiscal restraint, or school choice — was verified for these candidates in this pass. A ballot line is a candidacy, not a record, and we grade it as exactly that.
OUR CALL
Our call: insufficient record — no endorsement. What would earn one here: a published platform or a sourced record on parental rights, curriculum transparency, fiscal restraint, or school choice — or an endorsement from a named organization aligned with those values — verified claim by claim. On a roster alone, LiberalMind does not guess at what a candidate believes. Per-seat: At-large — no endorsement. District 3 — no endorsement. Districts 1 and 5 — unopposed; no contest to call.
For the complete Election 2026 breakdown — every race, claim by claim — see the full coverage on our website.
Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same.
Sources
- Moderately MOCO - Montgomery County school board candidates 2026 (citing Maryland State Board of Elections candidate list) — the verified roster for this race (accessed October 25, 2026) — https://moderatelymoco.com/montgomery-county-school-board-candidates-2026-forums/
- Roster grade: lead. Record gaps: candidate records, campaign materials, and fiscal analysis beyond the roster summary above were not verified at this pass's sourcing depth, except where a fact is stated and attributed in the text.
Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.
AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.