Army veteran Geoffrey Grammer (D) announced Monday he is withdrawing from the race for Maryland’s 6th Congressional District and is endorsing fellow Democrat April McClain Delaney of Potomac.
“This campaign was never about personal ambition; it was about upholding the core values of our democracy,” Grammer said in a news release. “From the onset, I pledged to reassess my candidacy if it became evident that there was a more viable path to ensure Maryland’s 6th District remains blue.”
Grammer, a mental health physician who lives in Rockville, threw his support behind McClain Delaney, a former top official of the U.S. Commerce Department, saying she is the best choice to keep the seat blue.
“April McClain Delaney embodies a unifying spirit dedicated to pragmatic, sensible solutions,” Grammer wrote. “She is a champion for safeguarding women’s reproductive rights, helping protect children’s mental health from internet harm, fostering job growth within our district and beyond, and fortifying our democratic institutions.”
Grammer is the second Democratic candidate to withdraw and promptly endorse McClain Delaney. Former Chevy Chase Mayor Joel Rubin took the same course on March 6.
“I’m confident that April will take on the hard issues and fight for us all. April has the vision, values, and integrity that we need right now,” Rubin wrote in a news release announcing his withdrawal. “And crucially, it’s imperative that we Democrats unify behind her to ensure that we keep the seat blue.”
With Grammer’s withdrawal, among the crowded field of other candidates beside McClain Delaney remaining in the May 14 primary for the Democratic nomination are: former Obama administration official Ashwani Jain, state Del. Lesley Lopez (D-Dist. 39), Hagerstown Mayor Tekesha Martinez, Montgomery County Councilmember Laurie-Anne Sayles (D-At-large), state Del. Joe Vogel (D-Dist. 17) and former U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development official Destiny Drake West.
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.
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, D.C. 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 following an upset primary victory in 2012. Delaney relinquished the seat in 2018 to undertake an unsuccessful campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.