Candidates for Congress from Maryland’s 6th District present views at candidate forum

HAGERSTOWN, Md. ( DC News Now ) — In Maryland’s Sixth Congressional District, Democrat April McClain Delaney and Republican Neil Parrott exchanged views at a chamber of commerce forum in Hagerstown Wednesday.

The candidates are vying for a seat that Rep. David Trone (D) surrendered in an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate. The district extends from Montgomery County through parts of Frederick to the state’s westernmost counties.

With control of the U.S. House at stake, this race could be pivotal.

McClain Delaney touts her experience as an official with the U.S. Department of Commerce.

“I understand agriculture, I understand small towns,” McLain Delaney, who grew up on an Idaho farm, said. “I also understand the challenges of being in Montgomery County. Washington County, I know, would like to drive some of the growth from neighboring Frederick.”

Parrott, who served several terms in the Maryland House of Delegates from Washington County, is focused on pocketbook issues.

“Groceries are up 25% over the past three years, electricity is up 30%,” Parrott said. “Gas has almost doubled.”

The border is another priority for Parrott.

“The ramifications of an open border, especially when you look at areas like Cumberland and, here in Hagerstown, people are dying of fentanyl,” Parrott said.

For McClain Delaney, voters tell her of their concern over “the affordability of housing, infrastructure, choice for women and driving investment in western Maryland.”

And in a departure from the candidates’ exchange of differences on the issues, each was asked to “say something nice” about the other.

Parrott said he admired McClain Delaney’s commitment to community; McClain-Delaney said she admired Parrott’s devotion to family.

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