Little interest in Frederick County so far for 6th District congressional seat

May 16—Some well-known political names in Frederick County said they don't plan to run for the county's congressional seat, which will be open next year as U.S. Rep. David Trone runs for the U.S. Senate.

"I am not at all interested [in] getting into that race," Democratic state Sen. Karen Lewis Young, of District 3, said Tuesday.

Former state Sen. Michael Hough — a Republican who represented District 4 from 2015 to January and narrowly lost a race for Frederick County executive in November — also said he is not interested in running for Congress.

"I just did a big election. I don't feel the need to go through that again," Hough said.

Frederick County Council President Brad Young, a Democrat, said he thought about entering the race, but decided that serving in Congress would mean too much time away from family and the issues that interest him.

"My heart is in Frederick County," Young said Tuesday.

Former Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox and former Democratic County Executive Jan Gardner have been mentioned as potential candidates for the seat. Neither could be reached for comment Tuesday.

Trone, in the middle of his third term representing the 6th District, is seeking the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Benjamin Cardin, D, who is retiring.

Trone defeated Republican Neil Parrott of Hagerstown in the last two congressional elections.

Trone had 55% to Parrott's 45% in the 2022 election. The margin was 59% for Trone and 39% for Parrott in the 2020 election.

Four people have already filed to run for the 6th District seat in 2024, according to the Maryland State Board of Elections: Frederick County residents Chris Hyser and Mariela Roca for the Republican nomination; Montgomery County resident Todd A. Puglisi, also for the Republican nomination; and Montgomery County resident George Gluck for the Democratic nomination.

The filing deadline is Feb. 9, 2024. The primary will be held May 14.

Lewis Young recently completed her first session in the Maryland Senate, after serving as a state delegate. She said she thinks she can make more of a difference at the state level than in Congress.

Hough is the chief of staff to West Virginia U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney, who is running for a Senate seat there.

Among Democrats, 26-year-old Montgomery County Delegate Joe Vogel has announced plans to run.

Fellow Montgomery County Delegate Lesley Lopez — who served as the chairwoman of the legislative women's caucus in Annapolis — recently told the state politics news site Maryland Matters that she's seriously considering a run.

Krish Vignarajah, the head of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service who ran for governor in 2018, is among others rumored as potential candidates, according to Maryland Matters.

Hyser said he thinks the race has opened up without the impact that Trone's money had.

The former Maryland State Police trooper from Thurmont said he has been talking to voters in Urbana and Montgomery County, and has been invited to parades, carnivals, and other events in Garrett and Allegany counties this summer.

While those areas are more conservative than the eastern parts of the district in Frederick and Montgomery counties, it can be harder to make inroads in Western Maryland because the area is so rural, Hyser said.

Western Maryland sometimes gets left out of the conversation because so many votes in the district are in Frederick County and a portion of Montgomery, Roca said.

After running in the 2022 Republican primary, Roca said, she feels that she learned a lot from her last run.

While trying to make connections in Garrett, Allegany, and Washington counties, she has also been networking with current members of Congress and the National Republican Congressional Committee to get feedback and support for her campaign.

That includes U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, who represents the 1st District on Maryland's Eastern Shore and is the only Republican in the state's congressional delegation.

A successful Republican will have to win Frederick and Washington counties and appeal to voters looking for something different, Roca said.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report lists the district as "Likely Democratic," with Democrats holding a 2-point advantage in its ratings of congressional districts across the country.

The district will likely be more competitive for Republicans in midterm elections than in a presidential election year like 2024, said Todd Eberly, a political science professor at St. Mary's College of Maryland.

But Frederick County is becoming more Democratic as voters move from Montgomery County and elsewhere, a trend likely to continue, he said.

He expects that the Democratic candidate for the 6th District could come from Frederick County.

"That's where the Democratic voters are," Eberly said.

Eberly said he can understand why Republicans see the district as a chance to pick up a seat in the House, but it's hard to see how that happens in 2024.

"It's obviously the most competitive district in Maryland," he said.

Hough sees the district as a toss-up, but said Republicans will need someone who can appeal to swing voters and raise money to compete in the Washington TV market.

He said a Republican candidate will probably win 60% of the vote in Western Maryland and lose Montgomery County by the same amount, which means Frederick will be crucial.

"You've got to win Frederick County," he said.

Even with the Cook analysis giving Democrats a 2-point advantage, Hough sees it as a district Republicans can win.

"There are Republicans all across the country that are sitting in seats that are a lot more Democrat than that," Hough said.

Follow Ryan Marshall on Twitter: @RMarshallFNP