Running for office is not easy. Even those who seem destined for it find themselves wondering if they made the right decision.

Karson Kamenetz just won the Baltimore County Council District 4 Democratic primary with more than 63% of the vote, becoming the youngest Democratic nominee in the history of Baltimore County and potentially the youngest ever Baltimore County Council member should he win the general election in November. He follows in the footsteps of his late father, Kevin, who was a County Council member and county executive.

Even with that resume, the 24-year-old Kamenetz said there have been times that he’s wondered if the process is worth the potential result.

“I have been fortunate to have the privilege and network that I have inherited, and that’s really why I ran — to try and use it for something positive,” he said. “But I have to tell you, there are great days on the trail, and every politician will tell you this, and there are days where you get home after getting up and you say to your wife or girlfriend or family, ‘man, I really wish I didn’t do this,’ or, ‘maybe it’s just not my time yet.’”

Kamenetz said a big reason he kept at it is he surrounded himself with supportive people who had a more impartial view than he did. Even when he struggled with the campaign, the people on his team were confident that they would get the results that eventually came to fruition in late June.

Now Kamenetz is poised to win the District 4 seat, which sits in a deeply liberal part of Baltimore and represents a diverse community that is largely Black and Jewish. At a time when relations between those two communities are strained, Kamenetz said it is essential to understand how we got here in order to create a plan of where to go.

“I think that the history of redlining and racism brought by Baltimore City has impacted Black people and Jews. I think reconciling with that history has been incredibly difficult for both communities. Both communities have fought extensively and intensely for power, for having the ability to have a seat representing their interests,” Kamenetz said. “Absolutely, that is a backdrop of every conversation I have in each community. I think the understanding of the importance of that representation is absolutely present and felt on the trail.”

The District 4 Democratic nominee said the process of strengthening relations in and between those communities starts with being “present relentlessly” in every community.

Kamenetz said he plans to continue that approach if elected in November.

A wrinkle in this year’s County Council race is the increased number of council members from seven to nine. What may sound like an unnecessarily crowded room is, in Kamenetz’s mind, potentially a way to amplify the average citizen’s voice.

“Personally, I don’t necessarily believe that more politicians are necessary to fix any problem. At the same time, I understand that when you have smaller districts … each community is heard more because their representative, in theory, has less communities to represent,” Kamenetz said.

He said what he learned on the campaign trail is that some communities are upset with the redistricting because it led to communities being split into different districts, or just because change is never certain regardless of its intention. Ultimately, however, Kamenetz said the larger council could well be a good thing.

While the result of general election in November is not a certainty, Kamenetz said winning the primary was “absolutely the largest hurdle,” citing the district’s 6-to-1 Democratic voter registration advantage over Republicans. He said his campaign won’t let up, however, and hopes to deliver a complete victory in the fall.

Election Day offered Kamenetz a unique experience he had never had before, even considering how seasoned he is for his age.

“I think what was especially surprising as the candidate being at these polling stations was how frequently folks came up not knowing who they were going to vote for. You have a 15- or 30-second opportunity to convince them that you are their guy before they walk into that polling station, and I’ve been on campaigns in positions from intern to campaign manager, and that isn’t something that I had experienced previously — but I think we won a lot of votes that way,” he said.

Kamenetz hopes that in November, he’ll be able to say the same thing.

aguckes@midatlanticmedia.com