Montgomery County's next executive built his winning coalition partly on a promise Potomac-area residents have been demanding for months: stop data centers until the county writes real rules.

Will Jawando, a second-term at-large councilmember, won the Democratic primary for county executive on June 26 with more than 40 percent of the vote, defeating his closest opponent by roughly 6,700 votes. In Montgomery County, that primary win all but guarantees he'll be sworn in as executive in December.

A Maryland Matters analysis published Monday documents how anti-data center anger drove primary results across the state. In Frederick County, Council President Brad Young, seen as the face of a December 2025 decision to expand a data center zone by about 1,000 acres, finished third. In Calvert County, all three incumbent commissioners who voted against a data center moratorium lost their seats.

In Montgomery County, Jawando proposed a two-year moratorium on data centers during the campaign, the most aggressive stance among the primary candidates, according to the Maryland Matters analysis.

"Will Jawando has had a clearer view of where the public is on this," said Mike Tidwell, founder of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and a Montgomery County resident. "I think that helped get him elected."

What's already in place

Outgoing County Executive Marc Elrich signed Executive Order 109-26 on June 12, directing the Department of Permitting Services to pause acceptance and processing of new data center permit applications for six months. The pause expires around December 12 unless the County Council passes data center legislation sooner.

Elrich said in his announcement that the county has no regulations specifically addressing data centers and that the pause creates time for the council to finish its legislative work and for the state to complete a comprehensive data center assessment due September 1.

That six-month window closes right around the time Jawando takes office in December. If the council hasn't acted by then, Jawando inherits a county with no data center rules on the books and a campaign promise to impose a two-year freeze.

Why Potomac residents are watching

The West Montgomery County Citizens Association has raised alarms about data centers since at least January 2026. Their concerns center on a proposed complex by Terra Energy at the former Dickerson Power Plant site in the Agricultural Reserve. Seven data centers there would draw cooling water from the Potomac River, which supplies more than 75 percent of the region's drinking water. The property line sits just 110 feet from the C&O Canal towpath.

WMCCA's newsletters have catalogued specific threats: heavy water withdrawals that could concentrate toxic contaminants, massive electricity demand, diesel backup generator pollution, low-frequency noise traveling up to 2.5 miles and stormwater runoff.

WMCCA's May 2026 newsletter reported that WSSC told the Montgomery County Civic Federation the region is "running out of drinking water to sustain the region over the next 10 years." WSSC is studying the Travilah Quarry for use as a drinking water reservoir.

Legislative path remains unclear

The County Council's track record on data center legislation has been mixed. Bill 4-26, which would have created a one-year task force, failed in committee on a 3-2 vote, with councilmembers Fani-González, Balcombe, and Sayles voting against and Glass and Stewart in support. Councilmember Evan Glass introduced a separate six-month pause bill in May 2026, preceding Elrich's executive order.

Zoning Text Amendment 26-01, which would allow data centers in industrial zones with a 500-foot setback from homes, was still under review as of April 2026.

The Maryland General Assembly convenes in January 2027. Tidwell told Maryland Matters he believes "more than one moratorium and ban bill" will be introduced in Annapolis.