George Walish

George Walish (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Maryland's 1st Congressional District. He lost in the Democratic primary on June 23, 2026.

Walish completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Elections

2026

Maryland's 1st Congressional District election, 2026 (June 23 Democratic primary)

Maryland's 1st Congressional District election, 2026 (June 23 Republican primary)

General election

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

General election for U.S. House Maryland District 1

Incumbent Andrew Harris, Dan Schwartz, and Edward Shlikas are running in the general election for U.S. House Maryland District 1 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Andrew Harris (R)
		Dan Schwartz (D)
		Edward Shlikas (Unaffiliated) (Write-in)

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 1

Dan Schwartz defeated Randi White, Victor Guidice, and George Walish in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 1 on June 23, 2026.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Dan Schwartz	46.3	19,821
	Randi White	36.7	15,723
	Victor Guidice	10.0	4,274
	George Walish	7.0	3,006

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 42,824
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Terrence Rogers (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 1

Incumbent Andrew Harris defeated Christopher Bruneau in the Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 1 on June 23, 2026.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Andrew Harris	79.7	54,122
	Christopher Bruneau	20.3	13,788

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 67,910
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

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Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

George Walish completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Walish's responses.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

George is a graduate of Biscayne College, now St. Thomas University, with a B.A. degree in Business; he worked construction in the summer to help pay for his education. He was married to Christine Walish for 33 years, Christine passed away in 2011. The couple had two children; George M. Walish III and Bradford M. Walish. His career included school teacher, coach of basketball and baseball 7th grade; with stints at Xerox corporation and Chrysler corporation. In 1975, George joined BMW of North America, LLC. where he was employed for 30 years and became a Senior Executive. He is the founder of the St. Michaels' Concours d'Elegance, which remains today one of the Top 10 Concours events in North America.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Will be a true representative of the people in Maryland's Congressional District 1.
The health of Chesapeake Bay.
Policy's that support Farmers and Waterman.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Those that effect the environment.

Those that effect Farmers.
Those that effect Watermen.

The needs of the 11 counties that make up Maryland's Congressional District 1.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Jamie Raskin because he is objective, he is fair, bright and knowledgeable. He has great energy and passion.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Abundance by Ezra Klein

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Truthfulness, Honesty, Integrity, and Accountability. Listening to your constituents.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Being a true representative of the people's voice in Maryland's Congressional District 1.

What legacy would you like to leave?

That I was the best congressman ever to hold the position.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The assassination of President John F. Kennedy. I was 13 years old and a freshman in high school. I was in algebra class when the announcement was made.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Worked in the produce department of an A&P supermarket at 16 years old, until 18.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, a novel by John Berendt.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

I struggled with the death of my father.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Absolutely not. The skill set of people skills and ability to make things happen is more beneficial.

What do you perceive to be the United States' greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

To maintain America's democracy and to unify the country.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

To build consensus and accomplish a goal it takes more than two years.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

Absolutely, there should be terms limits. In the House, the term should be increased to three years in order to finish projects that you start.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Jamie Raskin.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

This is dependent on the issue. You should not compromise your core values. Sometimes you need to give a little to gain a lot.

How should the U.S. House use its investigative powers?

If it appears that a law has been broken and some proof exists. Absolutely not for political purposes.

What committees interest you?

Agriculture, Environment, Ways & Means.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Total open book to the public.

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Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

George Walish campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2026*	U.S. House Maryland District 1	Lost primary	$0	N/A**
Grand total			$0	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets, Federal Election Commission *This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.