Brian Frydenborg
Party: Democrat
Age: 41
Residence: Silver Spring (Montgomery County)
Education: Washington and Lee University (B.A.); George Mason University School of Public Policy (M.S.)
Current/Most Recent Position: Freelance writer/researcher/analyst
Past Elected Office/Campaign Experience: None
Campaign Website: https://brian4md.com/
What experience (work, political or other) has best prepared you to be a U.S. senator?
I bring over two decades as a journalist (my site’s been named a Top Foreign Policy Website for four years in a row), academic, consultant, and government contractor engaging in national-level and international-level issues, including projects for U.S. Departments of Justice (Office on Violence Against Women) and Education, USAID, and a Jordanian NGO, from the Massachusetts State House to the U.S. Senate, for public and private entities, here in America and the Middle East. I’ve been featured by major institutions and news outlets, NATO, and academic publications, and I have the most detailed plans of any candidate on my website.
What is the most important issue currently confronting our nation as a whole, and what specific plans do you have to address it legislatively if elected?
Simply put: preserving and protecting democracy, the rule of law, voting rights, and the U.S. Constitution against Trump MAGA insurrectionist fascism. All other issues have to be secondary because if fascism destroys our republic as we know it, we won’t be able to make progress on healthcare, education, poverty, gun control, equitable economic development, climate change,fighting racism, or protecting America from Russian interference. I’ll help lead Senate investigations into any federal official who is trying to undermine or destroy the Constitution and the rule of law because we cannot be worrying about insurrection every four years and still govern.
What is one major issue the current Senate has handled poorly, and what would you have done differently?
In recent years, Democratic senators represent 39-43 million more people even though they have almost the same numbers as Republican senators and the Senate is mostly broken by the filibuster. It’s too risky to get rid of it—Larry Hogan may become Republicans’ 51st senator—but we can reduce from 60 to 55. Then we just need to win four more seats to expand the Supreme Court by four seats, then make Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. states. This will help balance our lopsided government in SCOTUS and Senate and even add more Democrats in the House, making it easier to govern.
What is the state of Maryland’s current greatest need in terms of assistance from the federal government, and what are your plans for obtaining increased aid in that area?
Obviously fixing the Port of Baltimore and rebuilding the Key Bridge after this latest tragedy with federal aid, but public transportation in general. We’re talking federal funding for Baltimore Red Line, Purple Line construction near D.C. that doesn’t disrupt commutes for months (in other words, not shutting down entire Metro stations for weeks and months, instead finding ways to do overnight work and operate during daytime hours), ensuring buses are running as often as they are scheduled, having a better app to track buses for riders (schedules are off way too often), looking more into light rail, expanding MARC.