U.S. Rep. John Delaney, who previously said he would make an announcement at the end of June about whether he’ll run for governor, said in a tweet Thursday that he’ll now make a decision at the end of July.
“Busy time; April & I working on next steps & will spend bit more time on it; will have something specific to say end of July. Stay tuned!” the tweet said. April McClain Delaney is the congressman’s wife.
Delaney, who lives in Potomac and represents the 6th Congressional District, would be a leading Democratic contender to challenge Republican Gov. Larry Hogan in the 2018 election. Former NAACP President Ben Jealous, Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker and State Sen. Richard Madaleno (D-Kensington) have already said they will pursue the Democratic nomination. Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz has said he’s thinking about entering the race and has begun assembling the campaign infrastructure to run statewide.
Delaney, on the other hand, has sent mixed signals. Over the past few months he’s held fundraisers to bolster his federal campaign account—funds he wouldn’t be able to use in the gubernatorial race.
Also, Delaney’s spokesman Will McDonald said in an email the congressman won’t attend the Maryland Municipal League (MML) conference from June 25 to 28 in Ocean City where potential candidates have the opportunity to speak with county, city and town leaders from across the state. Delaney won’t attend due to prior commitments and his voting schedule, according to McDonald. MML Executive Director Scott Hancock said in an email Thursday that Madaleno, Baker and Kamenetz have registered to attend the conference.
Meanwhile, while Delaney mulls whether he will run for governor, pursue re-election to his current seat or possibly run for some other office, potential candidates for his seat are lining up.
Montgomery County state Dels. Bill Frick (D-Bethesda) and Aruna Miller (D-Germantown) have created federal campaign accounts to allow them to start fundraising to run for the seat. Potomac businessman David Trone, the wealthy founder of Total Wine & More, has said he would consider running for Delaney’s seat, but only if the congressman doesn’t run for re-election. Trone is also weighing a run for the Democratic nomination for Montgomery County executive.
State Sen. Roger Manno (D-Silver Spring) may also run for Delaney’s seat. On Thursday, he tweeted pictures of himself at a candidate training hosted by the Women’s Democratic League of Frederick County. Frederick County is well outside Manno’s Silver Spring district, but is inside the gerrymandered 6th Congressional District that stretches from Potomac in Montgomery County, north through Frederick County and includes the Western Maryland panhandle.
Maryland’s 6th Congressional District