This article was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at .聽Sign up for today.
This content was republished with permission from WTOP鈥檚 news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for聽听迟辞诲补测.
During his visit to a Volvo truck plant in Hagerstown on Friday, President Biden is expected to spotlight the steps Democrats have taken to shore up the economy. His trip to Maryland 鈥� his second in six weeks 鈥� will also draw attention to the most competitive congressional race in the state, the battle between incumbent Rep. David Trone (D) and Del. Neil Parrott (R).
The contest is a rematch. Trone crushed Parrott two years ago, securing a second term by nearly 20 points. But his district looks a lot different than it did in 2020.
Although General Assembly leaders initially sought to pack a large number of Democrats into the聽6th District 鈥� as they did more than a decade ago 鈥� they changed course following a successful legal challenge by Republicans. Their聽, rushed through just before they adjourned for the year, puts fewer Montgomery County voters and more voters from Frederick County into the 6th, making it far more competitive.
The Economist calls the 6th聽聽in Maryland. Parrott, they calculated, has a 53% chance of winning. (Incumbents in the other seven districts are said to have a 99% chance of winning re-election.) The website fivethirtyeight.com聽聽鈥渉ighly competitive.鈥� Politico projects a status quo election,聽聽to the current 7-1 divide in the state鈥檚 congressional delegation.
The Trone-Parrott race pits a successful businessman and wealthy self-funder against a conservative state legislator and engineer who decided to forgo a fourth term in Annapolis to take another run at a congressional seat.
The fundraising battle favors Trone. The owner of a national chain of liquor stores, he routinely spends more than $10 million of his own money each election. As of June he had poured $12 million of his personal fortune into this year鈥檚 battle, despite not having a competitive primary. When he files a new campaign finance report on Oct. 15, that number will no doubt climb.
The political environment may favor Parrott. The party that holds the White House almost always loses congressional seats in the midterms, and high inflation and economic uncertainty are expected to hurt Democrats in November, though the overturning of聽Roe vs. Wade聽looms as a wildcard.
With three weeks to go until early voting, the race is coming to a boil.
Trone is using his millions to pound Parrott on radio and TV and in mailings. He has called his challenger a 鈥渉omophobic extremist who opposes same-sex marriage and trans rights [and] supports conversion therapy.鈥� Trone notes that Parrott backed President Trump鈥檚 call to repeal the Affordable Care Act, a move that would likely result in people with pre-existing medical conditions losing their health coverage. He also labeled Parrott one of the 鈥渓east effective鈥� legislators in Maryland, due to his 90% failure rate in getting bills he sponsored passed.
Parrott accuses Trone of teaming with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to advance White House-backed measures that exacerbated the deficit and fueled inflation. He opposes the decision to hire 87,000 new IRS agents, and he said that Trone鈥檚 support of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act will lead to the 鈥渄efunding鈥� of local police.
Trone supporters describe him as a workhorse who delivers for his district. In recent weeks the lawmaker has touted the $4.6 billion that Maryland will receive to improve bridges and highways, along with the $3 billion the state will get to improve broadband access, water systems, and public transportation. He has pressed the Postal Service鈥檚 inspector general to look into mail delays in Western Maryland, and he is co-founder and co-chair of the Bipartisan Addiction and Mental Health Task Force.
The lawmaker has received endorsements from groups that advocate for labor, the environment, reproductive freedoms and gun safety.
Parrott said in an interview that if Republicans retake the House, they will implement their聽, a pledge to toughen the nation鈥檚 borders, cut federal spending and聽 improve neighborhood safety. He is also touting 鈥減ro-parent鈥� policies that have become popular among GOP office-seekers.
Parrott鈥檚 call for an HIV 鈥榯attoo鈥� draws fire
Parrott called a press conference on Wednesday to defend himself against charges he once supported tattoos for people with HIV. In a 2005 op-ed in the Hagerstown Herald-Mail, Parrott said tattoos could slow the spread of the disease.
鈥淭his mark could be inconspicuously placed, perhaps in a spot covered by a bathing suit, warning only those who might engage in intimate encounters with the infected person,鈥� he wrote. He suggested that compliance with a tattoo mandate could be enhanced if the government were 鈥渢o provide medicine to the infected individual only after they have received the HIV tattoo.鈥�
At his news conference, Parrott accused Trone of digging up an old controversy to boost his re-election changes. He did not repudiate the tattoo concept, claiming instead that when he wrote his op-ed, AIDS was 鈥渁 death sentence.鈥� In fact,聽, deaths from HIV were cut by half in the mid-1990s due to antiretroviral therapy, which 鈥渂ecame the new treatment standard in 1997.鈥�
Parrott鈥檚 tattoo proposal is the subject of one of several ads that Trone is running on local TV. The spot features footage of children on a playground with 鈥淗IV鈥� tattoos on their forearms. 鈥淵eah, crazy,鈥� a narrator intones. 鈥淚n fact, the only thing crazier would be sending Neil Parrott to Congress.鈥�
More attacks on Parrott鈥檚 record can be expected in the coming weeks. As a state legislator, he advocated for a constitution amendment 鈥渢o establish that a marriage between one man and one woman shall be the only domestic legal union valid or recognized in the state.鈥� He also led efforts to block in-state tuition rates for undocumented immigrants, the abolition of the death penalty, and a measure to provide protections for transgender persons.
In an interview, Parrott called Trone鈥檚 attacks 鈥渄istracting鈥� and 鈥渄eceptive.鈥�
鈥淭hat wasn鈥檛 a policy position. It was just a letter to the editor,鈥� he added. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 20 years old. 鈥� He鈥檚 grasping at things that happened a long time ago.鈥� Parrott said he has consulted with lawyers and is considering suing to have Trone鈥檚 ads taken off the air.
Trone鈥檚 campaign manager, Cheryl Bruce, defended their focus on the issue.
鈥淲hether Neil Parrott supported government-mandated tattoos for people living with HIV in 2005 or yesterday, it doesn鈥檛 change the fact that this so-called solution was extreme and cruel,鈥� she said in a statement. 鈥淓ven [Wednesday], he did not apologize or show remorse for his position but rather聽fumbled through a half-hearted explanation saying he only聽changed his mind because of the availability of new medication.鈥�
In the meantime, Parrott is pushing back. He has embraced allegations that the Trone campaign is using 鈥渨indowless鈥� vans to recruit college students to become field workers, offering as much as $80 per hour. Students who sign up must agree to have tracking devices placed on their phones, Parrott alleged.
Trone鈥檚 campaign said it 鈥渨elcomes college students who are interested in volunteering.鈥�
But it is legal and common for candidates to pay campaign field workers.
Parrott conceded that he pulled out of a Sept. 27 Frederick League of Women Voters debate because Trone and the league wanted the event held on Zoom. Parrott insisted it be held in-person, to prevent his rival from 鈥渉iding in his house鈥� and reading off 鈥渃ue cards.鈥�
Both camps have agreed to attend an Oct. 24 forum at Frostburg State University and an Oct. 26 forum sponsored by the Washington County Chamber of Commerce.
