Karen A. Bushell, the Democratic incumbent Montgomery County circuit clerk, is running for reelection in the Nov. 3 general election.

Bushell has held the elected position since 2021. Before that, she spent seven years as chief deputy clerk for the same court.

Candidate information

  • Party: Democratic
  • Office sought: Montgomery County Circuit Court Clerk
  • Election: Maryland General Election, Nov. 3, 2026
  • Birthplace: Oak Lawn, Illinois (born 1964)

Bushell earned a high school diploma from Limestone High School and later received a paralegal certificate from George Mason University in 2005. She attended Montgomery College in 2016 and completed the Institute of Court Management Program through the National Center for State Courts in 2021.

Experience and public service

Bushell has worked in the Montgomery County court system since 2001, according to Maryland Manual On-Line records. She started as an administrative assistant at the District Court for Montgomery County that year, then moved to the Circuit Court for Montgomery County in 2002. She rose through the ranks to chief deputy clerk in 2014, a role she held for seven years.

She won election as clerk in 2021.

Outside the clerk's office, Bushell has served on several county and state bodies. She was a member of the Montgomery County Mental Health Court Planning and Implementation Task Force starting in 2015. She sat on the Judicial Council's Joint Work Group on Human Trafficking from 2016 to 2020. She has been a member of the Montgomery County Criminal Justice Coordinating Commission since 2021.

Bushell belongs to three professional associations: the Maryland Circuit Court Clerks' Association, the Mid-Atlantic Association for Court Management and the Conference of Circuit Court Clerks. She joined all three in 2014, according to Maryland Manual records.

She is also the founder and honorary chair of the Kevin Bushell Foundation, a nonprofit established in 2018.

On the issues

Her only response was filed under the infrastructure and transportation category but did not address that topic. On her campaign website, Bushell said she has earned the respect of colleagues and state leaders through her service to the Maryland court system.

Candidate issue responses, where available, were provided through BallotReady's questionnaire process. The Bethesda Beacon presents them for informational purposes and does not verify or endorse any candidate's claims about their own record.