By Adam Pagnucco.
Republican Council District 7 nominee Harold Maldonado, whose support from the county’s Republican Party was withdrawn by a unanimous vote of the party’s central committee, has released a statement alleging that the party has smeared him. Maldonado also refers to Montgomery Perspective, which published a long list of his social media comments, as “a far-left media outlet.”
We have previously quoted the Republican Party’s chairman and GOP candidates Esther Wells (running for county executive) and Reardon “Sully” Sullivan (running for Council District 1) on this issue. Now let’s hear from Maldonado, whose statement is reprinted below.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
HISPANIC IMMIGRANT CANDIDATE SMEARED BY COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY
Derwood, MD — September 24, 2026.- The Maldonado for Montgomery County Council campaign is responding to the Montgomery County Republican Party’s decision to discontinue its support for Mr. Maldonado and exclude his campaign from the party’s 2026 general-election voter guide based on an article from a far-left media outlet Montgomery Perspective.
The Maldonado for Council Campaign irrefutably rebukes the Party’s characterization of statements attributed to Mr. Maldonado and believes Montgomery County voters deserve an opportunity to hear directly from the candidate and evaluate his statements, record, and policy positions for themselves.
Mr. Maldonado’s statements and comments were and are based on his professional experience working directly with the Intelligence Community at the Central Intelligence Agency for 10 years, where he worked directly on national security issues, political analysis and economic analysis, being at the forefront of protecting the Homeland from domestic and international threats.
“The Republican Party is entitled to make its own organizational decisions,” said Mr. Maldonado. “But no political organization should be able to dictate what questions a candidate is allowed to raise or prevent voters from hearing directly from that candidate.”
Mr. Maldonado’s posts and comments referred on the GOP’s statement exclusively use open-source material that include links to these sources, and the topics of these are aimed at providing nuance to the mainstream information, muting any type of subjective opinions, encouraging his audience to make their own conclusions with the information presented. In no way these posts and comments are directed against any particular community, religious group, and/or individual person.
Furthermore, Mr. Maldonado said his campaign remains focused on the issues that he believes matter most to Montgomery County residents: affordability, taxes and spending, public safety, schools, transportation, economic development, and government accountability.
“My campaign is not about protecting political insiders or maintaining the status quo,” Maldonado said. “It is about asking difficult questions and demanding accountability from the people who govern Montgomery County. I will continue to speak about the issues that affect District 7 families, regardless of whether those conversations are politically convenient.”
The campaign also rejects the suggestion that criticism of government institutions or political influence should automatically be dismissed without examination. For example, it is public knowledge that past and current county government officials, including County Executive Marc Elrich and councilmembers have traveled to Taiwan every year to attend Smart City Conferences since 2023 and that just last year (2025), Elrich and incumbent Will Jawando travelled to similar events in China. Mr. Maldonado has pointed out that these trips were made to implement the UN Agenda 2030 Smart Cities project in the county, which is being implemented via the county’s Thrive 2050 county plan, currently. Mr. Maldonado has been pointing this out since 2022, when he first entered political life as a first-time candidate for the same council seat.
“There is an important distinction between raising a question and presenting an allegation as established fact,” Maldonado said. “I believe political debate should be based on facts and evidence. I also believe candidates and residents have every right to question government, political institutions, and the influences affecting public policy.”
The campaign notes that the Party’s decision concerns its organizational endorsement and voter guide, not Maldonado’s status as a candidate on the state ballot. The Maldonado campaign therefore intends to continue its general-election campaign and communicate directly with District 7 voters.
THIS CAMPAIGN IS NOT OVER
Mr. Maldonado said the decision will not change the campaign’s commitment to its core message of Affordability, Security, and Accountability.
“I entered this race because I believe District 7 deserves a representative who will challenge the status quo and fight for the people who live here, to be the voice for all residents,” Maldonado said. “That commitment does not disappear because a political organization decides to withdraw its support.”
He added, “It’s not like the GOP in the county was providing my campaign any meaningful support. I had a fundraiser on the 14th and didn’t get the support I expected or that other candidates get from the party. I’ve suggested ways the party could increase its public presence since joining in 2022, but I always got the cold shoulder. I started to think the party was controlled opposition and the recent actions by its leadership make that hypothesis more likely, sadly.”
The campaign will continue addressing concerns about the county’s tax burden, government spending, public safety, school safety, transportation, economic development, and transparency.
“The voters—not political organizations—will ultimately decide who represents District 7,” Maldonado said. “My responsibility is to give voters the facts, explain where I stand, answer legitimate questions, and let them make their own decision.”
The campaign also called on all candidates and political organizations participating in the 2026 election to maintain a substantive discussion about Montgomery County’s challenges rather than allowing political disagreements to replace debate over policy.
“Montgomery County families are dealing with real problems,” Maldonado said. “They are concerned about the cost of living, perpetual rising taxes, public safety in danger, our school system in crisis, and whether their government is accountable. Those are the issues I intend to keep talking about.”
Maldonado concluded, “The last time the council had a Republican was in 2006 and it appears the county’s GOP sabotaging efforts and going to prolong this reality.”
The Maldonado campaign will continue its 2026 general-election campaign and remain focused on the residents of District 7.
Affordability | Security | Accountability
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Maldonado for Council
info@haroldmaldonado.com