Editor’s note: MoCo360 is running profiles of candidates based on questionnaire answers they submitted for our 2024 voters guide.
Democrat and former U.S. Commerce Department official April McClain Delaney and former Republican state delegate Neil Parrott are the two candidates running to replace Potomac’s Rep. David Trone (D) in Maryland’s 6th Congressional District.
The district represents the northwestern portion of Montgomery County and all of Allegany, Frederick, Garrett and Washington counties in western Maryland. The district is currently represented by Trone, who vacated the seat for an unsuccessful run for U.S. Senate. Find your district by entering your address on the Maryland General Assembly’s lookup tool.
The geographic makeup of the district makes this race more competitive than others across the state as it includes majority-Democratic Montgomery County as well as more conservative leaning counties. It is being closely watched as a race that could help determine which party controls the House of Representatives.
In 2022, the race came down to the counting of mail-in ballots and wasn’t called until three days after Election Day, when Parrott conceded to Trone. The county’s Republican central committee has cited this dynamic as the reason it is encouraging Republican voters in the district to vote by mail. Recent polls have predicted the race could be too close to call.
The race has also sparked testiness from the candidates, who clashed and literally jabbed fingers at a recent forum.
Abortion and LGBTQ+ rights have emerged as top issues in the race as Parrott’s conservative record on these issues in the General Assembly have come to light, with McClain Delaney’s campaign criticizing Parrott’s views. Parrott has accused McClain Delaney of lying in campaign ads.
Early voting begins Thursday and runs through Oct. 31. Polling sites will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more information on local races and coverage of election forums, check out the MoCo360 2024 Voters Guide.
Here are the candidates:
April McClain Delaney
Party: Democrat
Age: 59
City/town of residence: Potomac
Education: bachelor’s degree in communications, Northwestern University; doctor of law, Georgetown University Law Center
Current/most recent role: Former deputy assistant secretary for communications and information in the Commerce Department, previously Washington, D.C., director of an advocacy group dealing with children’s television programming
Previous political experience: Not applicable
Why are you running?
I’m running to build on President Joe Biden’s work — investing in the middle class, defending democracy, protecting Social Security/Medicare and tackling climate. I’m focused on protecting kids from Big Tech, leveraging technology to spur growth, restoring women’s reproductive freedom and addressing the mental health crisis. I’m running to ensure the 6th District has a strong advocate in Congress. My platform is “Common Sense, Common Ground” — I believe we must work together to make progress. With 30 years’ experience in the private, nonprofit and public sectors, I’m ready to serve Mountain Maryland, Frederick, and Montgomery County from day one.
If elected, what would your priorities be within your first 100 days in Congress?
I will build a first-rate team, leverage my pre-existing strong relationship in Congress and the White House to get on committees that can help the 6th District and advance legislation that will help the district, protect a women’s right to choose, and align with other key priorities. I intend to prioritize constituent services like Rep. David Trone has done so well and build a strong and engaged district and constituent-centered office. I will reach out to members of Congress from both parties, build relationships, and seek common ground on our shared priorities.
What district-specific issues are you most passionate about and how would you use your platform to address them?
We must leverage technology to drive economic growth across the 6th District. In the Biden Commerce Department, I led the rollout of rural broadband grants, so I understand the importance of strategic investments to capitalize on our research and education assets. As I travel across the district, I hear complaints about transportation and infrastructure, so I will work to expand public transit and widen I-270. As the daughter of a farmer, I will support our family farms and ensure that the extraordinary natural beauty of the 6th District is illuminated and protected.
What do you think Congress’ role should be when it comes to public schools? What can you do to best support the schools?
Every child has a right to a quality education, no matter their circumstances. The federal government should deploy resources to support students and educators. Our kids deserve pre-kindergarten, free community college, lower college costs and skills training. I will champion public education and educational fairness. In my conversations across the district, adequate funding for excellence and equal access is critical, especially for those with disadvantaged and with marginalized identities. Resources are slim, educators are stretched, and students are stressed. My work at CommonSense Media taught me that Congress has a role to play, including protecting teachers from partisan attacks.
How should Congress address crime?
Americans and their families should be safe. We must do everything we can to advance public safety and fight crime. We need to support our police, fund effective and accountable policing policies, invest in more officers with better training, and encourage community policing. We also need to address some of the root causes of crime by tackling the mental health crisis, investing in prevention solutions, and keeping dangerous weapons off our streets and out of the wrong hands. I am a supporter of President Biden’s Safer America Plan.
How should Congress address gun violence?
Thirty-three thousand Americans die of gun violence every year – it is a national crisis and epidemic that is destroying communities every day. No one should be afraid to send their child to school or go to work. We must do more than “thoughts and prayers” – we must take action to pass common-sense gun safety legislation while protecting the rights of gun owners. I support universal background checks and limitations on assault weapons. We also must address the connection between our mental health crisis and gun violence.
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?
I am an unwavering supporter of reproductive rights and women’s right to an abortion. I cannot believe my four daughters now have fewer rights than I had. In Congress, I will work to codify Roe v. Wade into law and ensure that all reproductive healthcare is legal, safe and accessible. On day one in Congress, I will cosponsor the Women’s Health Protection Act. I am proud that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed me partly because of my strong defense of women’s right to choose.
The same Supreme Court decision has raised concerns about marriage rights and gender-affirming care access for LGBTQ+ people. How should Congress address this?
I stand with our LGBTQI+ communities, particularly as their rights are coming under attack. LGBTQI+ people deserve all of the same rights as others to marry who they’d like, get the health care they need, be safe in their communities, and be protected from discrimination and have a home. Transgender and nonbinary Americans are under increasing attack for simply being who they are. I will be an advocate against initiatives to end marriage equality or ban gender-affirming care. On day one in Congress, I will sign onto the Equality Act and be a strong champion for its passage.
What should Congress’ role be in addressing a changing climate?
Climate change poses an existential threat to our planet’s future. The climate crisis is a threat to national security, our economic prosperity, the world’s species and our environmental stability. The Inflation Reduction Act was transformative – it needs to be protected – but more needs to be done. Congress should increase basic research in climate science, price carbon, create new incentives to drive technological/scaling investments in industries that need to be decarbonized and bolster regulation. In Congress, I will work for a low carbon future and protect the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts.
Neil Parrott
Party: Republican
Age: 53
Residence: Hagerstown
Education: University of Maryland, Mount St. Mary’s University
Current/most recent role: former state delegate, District 2A
Previous political experience: State delegate, District 2A; ran twice as GOP nominee for the 6th Congressional District in 2020 and 2022 but lost to U.S. Rep. David Trone (D)
Why are you running?
People matter, and right now, American families are hurting – high cost of living, struggling businesses, crime, the border crisis, and battles over what children are taught in schools. I want to work to change this and help families across the district. I’m a professional engineer and small-business owner who likes solving problems. It was my privilege to solve problems for constituents and to help them for 12 years in the House of Delegates.
I am running for Congress so that I can help people directly. As a legislator, I will work together with others to develop and implement effective solutions.
If elected, what would your priorities be within your first 100 days in Congress?
Our open border is a national crisis where the number of illegal aliens entering our country since Biden took office exceeds the entire Maryland population. The uncontrolled border results in fentanyl deaths, the spread of human trafficking, increased violent crime, and unsustainable ongoing social program costs.
I will work to pass legislation resuming the Remain in Mexico program, completing the border wall, and changing asylum standards, which are used for abuse and fraud. I will work with others to increase U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s ability to locate, detain and remove illegal aliens, as well as to heavily fine companies that employ illegal aliens.
What district-specific issues are you most passionate about and how would you use your platform to address them?
Every single day motorists on I-270 pay a congestion tax. Former Gov. Larry Hogan had a plan to install express-toll lanes that would have widened I-270 and a section of I-495 including the American Legion Bridge. The plan was approved very late in his term and required Gov. Wes Moore to let out the contract. Instead, Moore killed the project.
Like I-270, major north/south roadways in the district need to be widened to improve safety and to increase capacity in the region. Interstate 81, U.S. Route 219, and I-270 all need to be widened. I would push for these needed transportation improvements.
What do you think Congress’ role should be when it comes to public schools? What can you do to best support the schools?
Reducing the size of the Department of Education will empower communities to make the best choices for students. Far too many public schools are failing our children, prioritizing indoctrination over basic skills. Money should follow the student. Congress should promote school choice and education savings accounts.
Congress should withhold any federal dollars from school districts that teach Critical Race Theory, allow boys to compete in girls sports or engage in any other forms of race or sex discrimination that violate federal law.
How should Congress address crime?
Montgomery County has been plagued by carjackings, smash and grabs and retail theft. While crime is primarily a local and state issue, there’s much Congress can do.
To start, Congress must work to enforce our immigration laws to only allow people into our country that we know about and who are not criminals. We can block radical pro-crime legislation that keeps repeat offenders on the streets, prevents police from doing their jobs, and discourages new hires.
Locally, Congress has the ability to make sure Washington, D.C., passes legislation that protects citizens, punishes offenders and empowers police, rather than coddling criminals.
How should Congress address gun violence?
Legislation empowering police and prosecutors to put violent criminals behind bars is a solution. Restricting law-abiding citizens’ constitutional rights to own firearms is not. More investment in proven mental health infrastructure would help curtail our violence epidemic. Congress can seek better enforcement of existing gun laws, especially those that combat straw purchases and black-market guns. Tough on crime, anti-gang violence initiatives at the local level have proven remarkably effective at reducing gun deaths. They fell out of favor as Democrat leaders called for defunding the police. Congress should incentivize their return.
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?
The Dobbs decision returned the question of abortion back to the states. In Maryland, the decision had no effect since under existing state law abortions can be performed right up until birth. Even so, the Maryland legislature passed a Maryland constitutional amendment regarding this issue that will be on the ballot for the voters to decide this November.
The federal government should stay out of the abortion debate and leave it to the states except for exceptional cases like when they banned partial birth abortion in 2003.
The same Supreme Court decision has raised concerns about marriage rights and gender-affirming care access for LGBTQ+ people. How should Congress address this?
The Obergefell decision overturned many state laws and made same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states. Maryland had already voted to recognize same-sex marriages in 2012 so the decision had no effect in Maryland.
With regard to supposed gender-affirming care, I support every state that has prohibited the barbaric practices of sex change surgeries, cross-sex hormone regimens and so-called puberty blockers for minors. The rest of the world, including most of Europe, is restricting and banning these dangerous experimental procedures, and I support Congress passing a federal ban on the horrific practice of child sex change surgeries.
What should Congress’ role be in addressing a changing climate?
Congress should make targeted investments in infrastructure that keeps communities safe from extreme weather events before they happen. It shouldn’t pass arbitrary legislation that does not make any meaningful impact on the climate but makes the cost of energy much higher for Americans and forces manufacturing overseas.
The primary world polluter is China. U.S. environmental policy should not sacrifice American manufacturing jobs to countries like China that would pollute at a much higher level to produce the same goods. Instead, trade laws should be used as one negotiating tactic to get China and other countries to pollute less.
