David Blair To Challenge Montgomery County Executive in 2022

POTOMAC, MD — Potomac businessman David Blair announced he is running for Montgomery County executive in 2022.

Blair will face off against incumbent Marc Elrich a second time, after losing to him in the 2018 Democratic primary by 77 votes.

"Our current County Executive took office and failed to address our most pressing issues, and then COVID hit. Since then, we've fallen farther and farther behind," Blair said. "Montgomery County can and should be doing better."

Elrich confirmed to reporters that he was running for re-election, but said he hasn't thought much about the upcoming election because of COVID-19.

"We haven't been doing planning for the election because I'm focused on trying to get us through the end of COVID," he said. "That would be a distraction for the moment. There's plenty of time for electioneering."

Blair — a life-long Montgomery County resident — is the founder of the Council for Advocacy and Policy Solutions (CAPS), a nonprofit public policy and advocacy organization based in the area. He also founded Catalyst Health Solutions, Inc. for more than a decade. The company, which offered pharmacy benefit management services to millions of Americans, was sold for $4.8 billion in 2012.

According to Blair, the county needs to undergo a change in leadership because it cannot afford to revert back to the way things were before the pandemic hit.

"We can't go back to the way things were before COVID. To build back better we need new ideas, a new vision for the county, and the commitment to make it happen," he said. "I'll collaborate with our talented County Council and community leaders to take on our toughest challenges."