U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Dist. 8) is set to announce his endorsement of April McClain Delaney (D) for the Democratic nomination in the race for Maryland’s Congressional District 6 at a press conference on Saturday in Frederick, according to a news release from the McClain Delaney campaign.
Raskin’s pending announcement marks one of the highest profile endorsements for McClain Delaney, a former top official of the U.S. Commerce Department, who is a frontrunner along with state Del. Joe Vogel (D-Dist. 17) in a crowded field of Democratic candidates vying for the 6th District seat in the May 14 primary election. Six Republicans are also running.
The endorsement from Raskin, a longtime Takoma Park resident who has represented parts of Montgomery County in Congress since 2017, holds considerable influence for many local voters, likely giving McClain a boost in support. Raskin’s prominence on the House of Representatives Jan. 6 committee that investigated the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in 2021 has also made him a national name.
This is the second endorsement Raskin has made in a primary race that political observers predict may be close. Raskin announced his endorsement of Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D) in the race for U.S. Senate last month. Alsobrooks and Rep. David Trone (D-Dist. 6) of Potomac are the top candidates among several running for the Democratic nomination to replace Sen. Ben Cardin (D), who is retiring. Former Gov. Larry Hogan is the leading candidate for the Republican nomination.
McClain Delaney, who lives in Potomac, has recently received endorsements from former fellow Democratic candidates Geoffrey Grammer and Joel Rubin, as well as former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Vogel, a Gaithersburg resident who came in second behind McClain Delaney in fundraising totals in the most recent Federal Election Commission reports, highlighted his growing number of endorsements from unions in a press release Thursday, including the National Education Association, the Amalgamated Transit Union and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Vogel also has received several high-profile nods from organizations including the Sierra Club and the Human Rights Campaign.
Vogel has been openly critical of McClain Delaney investing $500,000 of her own money into her campaign, as well as her absence at a recent forum. Both candidates have launched attack ads targeting each other.
McClain Delaney resigned in October as deputy assistant secretary for communications and information in the U.S. Commerce Department before announcing her campaign.
Prior to joining the Biden administration, McClain Delaney was Washington director of Common Sense Media, an advocacy group that focuses on online safety and the impact of television on children’s health and well-being.
The seat was held for six years by her husband, Democrat John Delaney, a multimillionaire businessman who won it following an upset primary victory in 2012. Delaney relinquished the seat in 2018 to undertake an unsuccessful campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
In the primary, McClain Delaney will face Vogel, international lawyer Peter Choharis, Obama administration official Ashwani Jain, Del. Lesley Lopez (D-Dist. 39), Hagerstown Mayor Tekesha Martinez, Montgomery County Councilmember Laurie-Anne Sayles (D-At-large), former U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development official Destiny Drake West and union representative Kiambo White in seeking the Democratic party nomination.
On the Republican side, former state delegate and 2022 GOP gubernatorial nominee Dan Cox, retired Maryland State Trooper Chris Hyser, former state delegate Neil Parrott, Air Force veteran Mariela Roca, Air Force veteran Tom Royals and former state delegate and former teacher Brenda Thiam are all seeking the nomination.