With the first day of early voting in Maryland’s primary election approaching Thursday, Democratic candidates in the state’s 6th congressional district presented their platforms Sunday afternoon in northern Montgomery County.
Ten candidates in one of the state’s most competitive races attended a forum hosted by the Montgomery County Women’s Democratic Club at Seneca Valley High School in Germantown.
The contenders seek to replace U.S. Rep. David Trone, who represents the district that includes Allegany, Frederick, Garrett and Washington counties and portions of Montgomery. Trone is running for the U.S. Senate.
Brian Karem, a columnist at Salon.com who moderated the more than two-hour forum, asked the candidates nearly a dozen questions, including whether they reside in the district.
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are required to live in the state but are not required to live in the district they represent. Trone, co-owner of Total Wine & More national liquor store chain, resides in Montgomery County, but not in the 6th District, which he has represented since January 2019.
George Gluck and Peter Choharis, who both reside in Montgomery County, said they were gerrymandered out of the district a few years ago.
“What’s important is who’s a small business person who can grow the economy,” said Choharis, a lawyer who manages his own firm. “This district has elected a small business person in the last 12 years.”
Gluck, a progressive activist and substitute teacher, ran for the seat in 2018 with the campaign slogan, “Make America Good Again.”
Another candidate who resides outside the district is April McClain Delaney, who said she lives near Trone.
Delaney, a lawyer, former U.S. Department of Commerce official and the wife of former U.S. Rep. John Delaney (D), received a major boost Saturday after an endorsement from U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-8th).
She has also garnered support from U.S. Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-5th) and Dutch Ruppersberger (D-2nd), Del. Lily Qi (D-Montgomery) and former Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner (D).
Delaney raised nearly $840,000 in the first three months of this year. However, about $550,000 is her own money.
“I’ve lived in Montgomery County for 20 years. The district line keeps moving,” she said. “The key part is…that you show up and you have incredible constituent services. That you actually get the scope and breadth of this district. That you know the district, you show up like Congressman Trone, and you’re there day in and day out.”
Ashwani Jain, a 2022 gubernatorial candidate, lives in Montgomery County and resides in the district.
“I think that matters,” said Jain, who served in former President Barack Obama’s administration. Jain said his campaign is run exclusively by residents from the district.
The candidates responded to questions that included how to handle immigration, whether they support bipartisanship and what distinguishes them from their opponents.
They were also asked about what Democrats are doing wrong in Congress.
Del. Joe Vogel (D-Montgomery) summarized a list of policy priorities that haven’t been approved, including an assault weapons ban, stronger policies to battle the climate crisis and the Equality Act, which would provide comprehensive protections for those in the LGBTQ+ community in areas such as employment, education and housing.
“I’ll add one more thing: there are more people on this stage right now than there are members of Congress under the age of 40,” Vogel, 27, said. “We have made complaints often about young people not engaging with the Democratic Party, but we failed to elect people to Congress that share their lived experiences and understand what they’re going through.”
Like Delaney, Vogel is among the top candidates who have garnered several notable endorsements. Those include the support of his former boss U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), the Sierra Club of Maryland and the National Education Association, based on a recommendation from the Maryland State Education Association.
Vogel and his colleague, Del. Lesley J. Lopez (D-Montgomery), are among eight candidates who reside in the state’s most populous jurisdiction.
Lopez is one of five candidates in the race seeking to become the first woman in Maryland’s federal delegation since former Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D) and former Rep. Donna Edwards (D) left office in 2017.
One of Lopez’s top priorities is to pass policies that help “working families,” or parents with children. She’s the mother of two young children.
“I’m running for this seat is because I just don’t think working families really have a fair shot and essentially don’t have a seat at the table,” said Lopez, who’s been in office for six years and whose district includes Seneca Valley High School.
Both Montgomery County Councilmember Laurie-Anne Sayles and Hagerstown Mayor Tekesha Martinez said Congress needs more people with lived experiences.
Both women can claim firsts: Sayles as the first Black person elected to the Gaithersburg City Council and Martinez as the city of Hagerstown’s first Black mayor.
Sayles said she’s the only candidate with a public health background. She was a health program manager at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and a public health educator at the National Institutes of Health.
“We need to make sure that the people we’re electing actually have the experiences that reflect the people of the district,” she said.
Martinez, one of two candidates from Washington County, has raised up to $519,000 from several organizations. She said she’s the only candidate to come from humble beginnings, including being homeless.
“We don’t have enough affordable housing. As a mayor, I believe Congress people should be talking to mayors,” she said.
When candidates were asked what committees they would like to serve on, Kiambo White, a union representative from Frederick County, said he wants to deal with education and labor. He also mentioned veteran affairs and said that members of his family have served in the miliary since the Korean War.
“I have seen firsthand some of the challenges that are currently facing the veteran affairs division,” he said.
Mohammad Mozumder, a retired scientist with the U.S. Department of Energy who lives in Montgomery County, said two of his top three priorities include expanding mass transit and reducing inflation.
The Women’s Democratic Club noted that three candidates did not attend the forum: Altimont Mark Wilks, a small business owner from Washington County; Adrian Petrus, a protective security officer from Prince George’s County; and Destiny Drake West from Montgomery County, the founder of a think tank called the Drake Institute of Women’s Policy, who recently had a baby.
The Democrat who wins the May 14 primary will take on one of seven Republican candidates running for the seat. The GOP field includes former Del. Brenda Thiam; former Del. Neil C. Parrott, the two-time GOP nominee against Trone; and former Del. Dan Cox, who was the Republican nominee for governor in 2022.
At Seneca Valley High School, there was an overall message for Democrats at the forum.
“It’s crucial for Democrats [to] retake and regain control of the House,” said Tazeen Ahmed, president of the Montgomery County Women’s Democratic Club. “So choosing wisely in the primaries is important to ensure that we retain this seat by voting Democrat to the Congressional District 6. To do this, we need all hands on deck.”