Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. has his sights set on Washington, launching a campaign for Congress on Tuesday, WJZ media partner The Baltimore Banner reports.
Olszewski, a Democrat in his second term as county executive, hopes to succeed longtime U.S. Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, who announced his plans to retire last week.
“I’m running because I think it’s time that we showed D.C. how to get things done,” Olszewski said in an interview with The Baltimore Banner ahead of his launch. “I’m excited about the prospect of being part of the new generation of leaders in Washington.”
Olszewski kicked off his campaign by releasing an announcement video online, introducing himself by his nickname, “Johnny O,” and pledging that in Congress, he’d work to forge compromise “without compromising our values.”
Olszewski faces company in the race: State Del. Harry Bhandari, a Democrat representing the northeast portion of the county, also intends to run.
Raised in Dundalk, Olszewski now lives on Millers Island — barely outside the current boundaries of the 2nd Congressional District. Millers Island is a peninsula on one side of Back River in the 7th Congressional District, while neighborhoods on the other side of Back River are in the 2nd Congressional District. Before the last round of redistricting, Olszewski’s home was in the 2nd District.
Members of Congress are not required to live in their districts, only in the correct state.
While Olszewski acknowledged he lives “just barely” outside the district, he also said that he already represents and works for residents in a large swath of the district. “I am living in, working in and supporting much of the district already,” he said.
The 2nd Congressional District includes most of Carroll County, as well as a significant section of Baltimore County, including neighborhoods on the county’s west side, the north-central area up to the Pennsylvania line, and reaching across to some northeastern and eastern neighborhoods. It also dips into Baltimore to pick up a few northern neighborhoods.
The shape of the district has morphed over the years through periodic redistricting, and had been represented by Ruppersberger since the 2002 election. Ruppersberger also was a Baltimore County executive before winning election to Congress.
Olszewski, though only 41, has more than two decades of experience in public service, dating back to when he was a high school student member of the county’s school board.
He went on to become a public school teacher and was appointed to fill a vacancy in the House of Delegates in 2006, when he was just 23. He went on to serve until the 2014 election, when he lost a bid to become a state senator. Olszewski parlayed that loss into a win as county executive four years later in 2018. In that election, Olszewski won a razor-thin 17-vote victory in the Democratic primary, before going on to an easy win in the general election.
After winning reelection in 2022, Olszewski’s current term would run through the 2026 election. He serves as president of the Maryland Association of Counties, representing the interests of local governments, particularly on issues being considered by the state legislature.
Johnny Olszewski, Baltimore Countyexecutive, speaks at a press conference announcing a package of foundational legislative reforms to expand access to new…
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