By Adam Pagnucco.
Last month, I printed a column asking if school board candidate Brenda Diaz was on track to winning her race for an at-large seat. Diaz’s general election opponent, Omar Lazo, has the mighty Apple Ballot while she is opposed by the county Democratic Party, two big strikes against her. However, since 2014, female general election school board candidates have a 7-0 record when matched up against men in MoCo. That may give Diaz a shot to win.
It seems that a Super PAC financed mostly by the Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) agrees with me.
Strong Maryland is a Super PAC formed on April 22, 2026. As of this writing, it has received two contributions: one from MSEA on May 26 for $40,000 and another from the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees on June 2 for $25,000.
The Super PAC’s contributions as of October 5, 2026.
Strong Maryland has set up a website attacking Diaz, telling readers, “As our students face federal cuts to school meals, student programs, and school funding, Republican and Trump/MAGA-aligned candidate Brenda Diaz is attempting to bring a deeply divisive and distracting agenda to Montgomery County schools. Unfortunately, our county has already been directly impacted by the chaos and reckless cuts coming from DC. The last thing we need is more of it locally.” The site describes Diaz as “a favorite of the Montgomery County Republican Party.”
Favorite or not, Diaz appears on a list of candidates supported by the MoCo GOP.
During the primary election, the Super PAC spent $18,125 on an unsuccessful attempt to keep Diaz off the general election ballot. On September 21, it reported spending $38,000 on online ads opposing Diaz with more money spent on opposing school board candidates in Frederick County.
An excerpt from Strong Maryland’s September 21 independent expenditure report showing spending against Diaz.
So far, I have seen two ads by Strong Maryland against Diaz. Screenshots are shown below.
At the same time, MSEA is running online ads supporting Lazo, one of which is shown below.
The teachers are a sophisticated and powerful player in MoCo and beyond. Let no one accuse them of being complacent when facing Diaz! Will their efforts pay off, or is Diaz headed to Gude Drive? We shall find out soon enough.