Editor’s note: More than a dozen Democrats and Republicans are running in the May 14 primary election to be their party’s nominee in the race for the 6th Congressional District seat now held by Rep. David Trone (D), who is running for the U.S. Senate. MoCo360 is running profiles of the candidates based on questionnaire answers submitted for our voters guide. Beginning with the Republican candidates, a profile will be published every weekday until the May 2 start of early voting.
Today’s profile features Democratic candidate Joe Vogel.
Joe Vogel
Party: Democrat
Age: 27
Residence: Gaithersburg
Education: George Washington University, Harvard University
Current/most recent role: state delegate (Maryland General Assembly District 17)
Previous political experience: state delegate (Maryland General Assembly District 17), worked on various Democratic campaigns (Barack Obama, Cheryl Kagan, Hilary Clinton, Cory Booker), Maryland Youth Advisory Council
Campaign website: https://www.joevogel.org/
Why are you running?
As far-right extremists work to undermine our democracy, I am running to bring my experience as a community leader and practiced legislator to fight for Marylanders in Congress. As an immigrant to this country, I believe in the American Dream. Being part of the school shooting generation and the LGBTQ+ community, I believe that proximity to policy matters. As a legislator I advanced meaningful climate, health, and justice legislation with bipartisan support; I am ready to take on those same fights in Congress, overcoming party gridlock to deliver real results for working families.
If elected, what would your priorities be within your first 100 days in Congress?
In my first 100 days in Congress, I would take immediate action on the issues Americans have waited too long to see progress on: gun violence, climate change, and reproductive freedom. On gun violence, I will add my voice to the fight to ban assault weapons, instate common sense background checks, and fund research into gun violence prevention. On climate change, I would advance measures that invest in clean energy job creation and renewable infrastructure development. On reproductive freedom, I would push Congress to finally legislate protections for abortion and reproductive care, ending the right wing’s attack on women’s rights.
What district-specific issues are you most passionate about and how would you use your platform to address them?
I am running to represent the needs of District 6. After meeting with voters across this district, from Oakland to Gaithersburg, the three areas I’ll prioritize in my first 100 days are economic growth, mental health, and the opioid epidemic. We need to bolster collective organizing, incentivize entrepreneurship, and expand diversity pipelines in education and the private sector. We need to expand access to mental healthcare providers while also allocating more funds for research on preventative steps for our communities to take. And we need to stem the flow of illicit opioids while expanding treatment services in our communities.
What do you think Congress’ role should be when it comes to public schools? What can you do to best support the schools?
The federal government must maintain strong standards of quality for educator compensation, school quality, and educational performance that prevent any school district or demographic from falling behind. It should fund state education programs through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and support programs to bolster budgets for educator salaries and support systems. Congress should support the roll-out of more holistic school support services, recognizing schools’ potential to be hubs for nutrition, health, mental health, and vocational development. Congress should also ensure schools are free of discrimination, and proactively provide resources for language learning and special need support programs.
How should Congress address crime?
A well-trained, well-funded, and well-regulated justice and policing system is critical to the promotion of safe, prosperous neighborhoods. If elected, I intend to ensure this is the reality for every community. To accomplish this requires ensuring law enforcement officers have the resources required to effectively do their jobs, updating law enforcement policies to ensure officers are trained by and adhere to policies that keep both them and members of the community safe, and amending criminal codes and justice policies to end the disproportionate harm historically done to marginalized communities, particularly those of color.
How should Congress address gun violence?
I’ll never forget going to school as part of the school shooting generation. I went from organizing March for Our Lives protests to actively supporting common sense gun safety laws in the legislature. In Congress, I will fight to instate universal background checks, ban assault weapons, invest in gun violence prevention research, promote safe gun ownership practices, and expand gun manufacturer liability. By taking weapons of war off the street, keeping guns out of dangerous hands, promoting gun safety within homes, and investing in community violence prevention programs, we can preserve Second Amendment freedoms while also protecting American lives.
The Dobbs v. Jackson decision in 2022 that overturned Roe v. Wade has changed the face of reproductive care access across the country. What should Congress’ role be in the abortion conversation?
Congress must prioritize making sure everyone, no matter their zip code, has access to affordable, reliable, and safe reproductive health care. We need to move beyond rhetoric and get serious about legislating solutions. If elected, I would cosponsor the Women’s Health Protection Act, establishing a right for healthcare professionals to provide abortion care and the right for their patients to receive care, free from bans and medically unnecessary restrictions that single out abortion care, and the EACH Act, lifting unjust abortion coverage restrictions for those dependent on Medicaid and government-sponsored plans.
The same Supreme Court decision has raised concerns about marriage rights and gender-affirming care access for LGBTQ+ people. How should Congress address this?
As a legislator, I fought hard to ensure that the interests of the LGBTQ+ community are advanced, not just through legislation directly concerning equal rights, but also when it comes to healthcare, access to services, and public safety. I also took a strong, vocal stand against homophobic, anti-trans bills, like the so-called “Fairness in Girls’ Sports Act.” Standing up for LGBTQ+ Americans demands proposing remedies for the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ people as they interact with all facets of our government, economy, and communities. I am running to provide that leadership in Congress as Maryland’s first openly LGBTQ member.
What should Congress’ role be in addressing a changing climate?
We need leaders with the creativity and resolve to stop a climate crisis while protecting the interests of American families. I’ve passed bills to incentivize green innovation, community solar adoption, and industrial decarbonization. If elected I would set a 100% clean economy goal for 2050, encourage international decarbonization while increasing American competitiveness, and invest in minority/rural community energy transitions. Tackling climate change can and should be an opportunity to invest in the future of our country: rebuilding infrastructure, advancing industry, and creating good paying jobs. We can serve American interests not just in the future, but in the present.
Is there anything else you want to share with prospective voters?
Just as important as my track record as a legislator is the perspective I would bring as a gay, Latino, Gen-Z legislator running for Congress. Our country needs new voices in government that fight for underserved communities and America as a whole. We also need leaders ready to do the work to meet voters where they are and earn their trust. That’s what I’ve done this election cycle, traveling across the district to hear Marylanders’ stories and aspirations for the future. I plan to take these stories with me to Congress, and fight to realize those hopes for our country.
This is the eleventh in a series of candidate profiles. Check out the first profile here.
