![]() Predictably, he picked up endorsements from Montgomery County Council members, many of whom live in his district, and nearly all of the Takoma Park City Council. ![]() More than 40 elected officials have thrown their support behind him. With a crowded field growing even more cramped as the campaign season ramps up, Raskin has strategically sought to raise his visibility right out of the gate with a long list of endorsements. Ariana Kelly of Bethesda and Jeffrey Waldstreicher of Kensington, former Montgomery County Councilwoman Valerie Ervin and Marriott International executive Kathleen Mathews of Chevy Chase are still mulling runs. The former White House associate director of the Office of Public Engagement finished fourth out of nine candidates vying for a delegate seat for the 20th Legislative District in the 2014 primary.ĭels. Will Jawando of Silver Spring threw his hat into the ring just days before. Gutierrez became the first Latina in the State House when she captured Van Hollen’s old seat in 2002. Ana Sol Gutierrez of Chevy Chase announced her candidacy late last week. Ami Bera (D-Calif.), the only Indian-American in Congress.ĭel. Barve took in $66,200 - of which $10,800 was donated by Barve and his mother - between March 9 and 31. Kumar Barve announced his candidacy in early March as such, he is the only candidate required to file a quarterly fundraising report. Four candidates have officially declared and at least four more are eying a run.ĭel. The rare opportunity to compete for a national platform in a Democratic stronghold has mass appeal. The real challenge in the race isn’t the Democrat versus GOP divide - no Republican candidates have declared as of yet - but the lines being drawn between Montgomery County Democrats. I even call myself a conservative sometimes, because I want to conserve the air, the water.” I’m a progressive the root of that word is progress. “The root of that word is liberty and I’m for liberty. “I’m not going to pretend I’m not a liberal,” he said. On a drive back from visiting Democratic activists in Frederick, he rattled off a list of bipartisan successes, including the Second Chance Act, aimed at shielding certain nonviolent misdemeanor criminal records from public view to help reformed criminals seek an easier path to employment. Quite well, Raskin believes, pointing to the 100-plus bills he’s passed in Annapolis. Given the geographic and political disparities between the southern and northern portions of the district, how will a Harvard-educated, American University law professor be received outside of liberal Takoma Park? Most of his victory came from Montgomery County in Carroll and Frederick counties, Republican challenger Dave Wallace took in the most votes. Since Van Hollen unseated moderate Republican Connie Morella in 2002, the district has become a firmly Democratic stronghold, with Van Hollen capturing more than 60 percent of the vote in 2014. It encompasses pieces of metropolitan Montgomery County - home to a significant portion the Washington area’s Jewish population - and large swaths of the more rural, conservative and Republican leaning Carroll and Frederick counties. The federal district he seeks to represent is among the most gerrymandered in the state. He believes that “we have an urgent responsibility to halt and reverse the disastrous effects of climate change” at the federal level and views himself as a champion of small businesses against “big business lobbyists.” He’s been lauded by the American Civil Liberties Union and Progressive Neighbors alike.īut in making his views the centerpiece of a run for Capitol Hill, Raskin might be setting himself up for an uphill climb. ![]() He has championed rights for the LGBT community, women and minorities, is in favor of a single-payer healthcare system and wants to raise the minimum wage. Raskin, a Montgomery County Democrat who currently serves as the state Senate’s majority whip, is in many ways the quintessential progressive. “The political center moves marriage equality is a great example. “I thought about it for a second and said, ‘I guess my ambition is not to be the political center, it’s to be the moral center,’” Raskin said in a recent interview. A supporter confronted him afterwards and said Raskin’s stance on gay marriage made it sound like he “wasn’t in the political center.” In his kick-off speech for his successful 2006 run against a 32-year incumbent, he vowed to work toward marriage equality. ![]() Chris Van Hollen (D-District 8) as he runs for the Senate, has invoked often. It’s a refrain the Jewish Raskin, who is seeking the seat being vacated by Rep. “My ambition,” said the congressional candidate, “is to be in the moral center.” Jamie Raskin declared that his “ambition is not to be in the political center.” At his campaign kick-off, Maryland state Sen.
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