FREDERICK, Md. (AP) – In an election with the future of reproductive rights in Maryland and elsewhere around the country at stake, the state’s all-male congressional delegation is poised to gain an influx of women.
It could happen in Maryland’s 6th Congressional District, where Democrat April McClain Delaney is running against conservative Republican Neil Parrott, a former member of the Maryland House of Delegates. They compete to represent much of rural Maryland and the more affluent liberal suburbs of Washington, DC
In a year that also saw voters elect the nation’s first female president, women are vying for two other open seats in Maryland’s nine-member congressional delegation. The delegation has been all-male since former Sen. Barbara Mikulski retired in 2016, but the state has a long history of female officeholders from both parties.
McClain Delaney, a mother of four daughters whose husband previously represented the district, says she wants to protect the reproductive rights of her children and other young people in the wake of the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision ending the constitutional right to abortion and to leave the country. these decisions to the states. She previously worked at the Biden administration’s Department of Commerce and has focused much of her career on protecting children’s online safety.
“I can’t believe that my mother, my daughters’ grandmother, had more reproductive freedoms than they currently have,” she said in a recent interview. She said she once had an ectopic pregnancy that could have been fatal if restrictive abortion laws had limited her access to life-saving medical care.
Parrott, meanwhile, has dodged questions about reproductive rights during the campaign. He made his anti-abortion position clear in the Maryland State House for 12 years. But now, he says, it’s “really a non-issue” because he believes neither political party can get enough votes in Congress to regulate abortion nationally — a position similar to that of former President Donald Trump, the presidential candidate of the Republican Party.
That approach also reflects recent efforts by other conservatives and leaders of the anti-abortion movement who are now struggling to appeal to voters in blue-leaning Maryland. The state’s voters will also consider a constitutional amendment to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.
Parrott, 54, has worked to move the conversation onto friendlier ground, emphasizing his commitment to reducing inflation, creating a stronger economy for middle-class families and stopping illegal immigration. He says his opponent — who lives several miles outside the district in an affluent Washington suburb — is out of touch with the struggles of everyday Americans, including people in the 6th Congressional District.
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are only required to reside in the state they represent.
McClain Delaney has used personal funds to boost her campaign, drawing support from major Democrats including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin.
She also outspent Parrott by a wide margin, according to AdImpact, which tracks campaign spending. Just since the May 14 primary, Democrats have spent more than $600,000 on advertising in the race for the Sixth District, compared to just over $30,000 spent by Republicans.
These numbers aren’t expected to change much between now and November 5, with McClain-Delaney holding an almost 20-1 lead in ad spend ahead of the rest. Neither candidate has received much support from the national parties or outside groups, a possible indicator that both parties view the seat as safely Democratic.
Parrot is a longtime resident of Hagerstown, a small town in western Maryland surrounded by farmland. He is a traffic engineer by profession and can deal well with people who have to deal with expensive groceries and unaffordable housing.
“I have a history here,” he said. “I have served in the community here.”
But McClain Delaney, 60, claims she is more ideologically aligned with most 6th District voters. She calls herself a “common sense, common ground” candidate. The daughter of an Idaho potato farmer, she says she can get Washington politicians to address the needs of working families.
McClain Delaney has attacked Parrott’s record in the Maryland House of Representatives, especially on issues affecting women.
Parrott, in turn, has accused McClain Delaney of lying and taking things out of context. In an interview last week, Parrott said he supports the right to abortion in cases of rape, incest and when the mother’s life is in danger.
Tensions between the candidates erupted into a heated exchange during the final few minutes of a recent public forum.
“Shame on her,” Parrott said, pointing a finger at McClain Delaney, who denied putting out false information as audience members chanted and jeered.
The House seat was vacated by David Trone, who ran for Senate and lost to Angela Alsobrooks in the Democratic primary earlier this year.
The 6th District hasn’t always favored Democrats. It was represented by Republican Roscoe Bartlett for 20 years before McClain Delaney’s husband, John Delaney, won the seat in 2012 in a redistricting that helped Democrats.
Maryland’s congressional delegation currently consists of eight Democrats and one Republican. Three women are vying for open seats this election cycle.
In Maryland’s deep blue 3rd Congressional District, Sen. Sarah Elfreth won a crowded Democratic primary. Her main rival was former U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, who defended the Capitol against Jan. 6 rioters. In 2018, Elfreth became the youngest woman elected to the Senate. She has pledged to prioritize reproductive health and affordable child care.
Reproductive freedom is also at the forefront of the U.S. Senate race between former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan and Alsobrooks, a Democrat who argues there is too much at stake for women to risk losing Democrats’ slim majority in the Senate to lose. She said having more women at the table is a big deal.
“I believe it makes our policy more complete,” she said in a recent interview. “And so this is a moment that gives us an opportunity to make sure that we add women – mothers and daughters and sisters – to the Senate to make sure that the diversity of lived experiences is represented in that body.”
