Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich appears headed back to the County Council after unofficial results from Tuesday's election show him among the top four finishers in the at-large race.

Elrich, who is term-limited and cannot seek a third term as executive, collected 225,783 votes with all 257 precincts reporting, according to The MoCo Show. That placed him fourth in the five-candidate contest for four at-large seats.

The results remain unofficial. About 35,000 mail-in ballots and an unknown number of provisional ballots still need to be counted, according to Montgomery Community Media.

All four Democrats in the race held wide leads over Republican Sherwin Wells, who received 70,615 votes, or about 7%.

The at-large field

Councilmember Laurie-Anne Sayles, the only incumbent at-large member seeking re-election, led the field with 228,749 votes, or about 23.21%. Scott Goldberg, a former chair of the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee, followed with 228,301 votes, or about 23.16%.

School board member Karla Silvestre placed third with 226,059 votes, or about 22.94%. Elrich trailed Silvestre by fewer than 300 votes.

Bethesda Magazine first reported Tuesday night that five Democrats, including Elrich, appeared poised to join the council in December.

Elrich's long local career

Elrich's bid marks a return to the body where he spent 12 years. He served as an at-large councilmember from 2006 to 2018 before winning the county executive race. Before that, he sat on the Takoma Park City Council from 1987 to 2006.

In November 2024, voters passed a referendum restricting the county executive to two consecutive terms, down from three, according to Bethesda Magazine. Elrich announced his candidacy for an at-large council seat on Nov. 18, 2024, according to the county government's website.

He led a crowded 17-candidate Democratic primary field in June 2026, according to FOX 5 DC.

Ballots still outstanding

David Naimon, president of the Montgomery County Board of Elections, shared the post-election numbers at County Executive Elrich's weekly media briefing on Nov. 4. "We don't declare winners until every eligible vote is counted," Naimon said.

Amie Hoeber, the board's secretary, said election workers still have "days' worth of work ahead" as mail-in and provisional ballots are reviewed under state law. The board resumed counting mail-in ballots on Nov. 5.

Ballots postmarked by Election Day will count if they arrive by 10 a.m. Nov. 13. Local boards must certify results by that date, according to Patch.

Hoeber invited residents to observe the canvass process. "I want to encourage everyone who's interested in the process, no matter what your position is on any of the candidates or any of the issues, to come and watch the canvass," she said.