Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md., 5th) has represented Maryland’s 5th Congressional District for over four decades and is running again in 2024, but he is not uncontested.
Three Democrat challengers have filed to run for the seat, taking on the monumental task of beating one of Congress’s most senior members. The lone Republican candidate, Michelle Talkington, will face the Democratic primary winner in November's general election.
“After speaking to folks across Southern Maryland, it is clear that we are ready for a change,” Andrea L. Crooms, a Democratic candidate from Upper Marlboro, said.
“While we recognize the difficulty in beating a 40-plus-year incumbent, we have had an incredible show of support from citizens all around District 5,” candidate Quincy Bareebe of Odenton said.
Bareebe says that she entered the race because she saw too many members of her community struggling in day-to-day life and wanted to make their voices heard at the national level.
Likewise, Crooms said that her decision to run for Congress is fueled by the desire to make her home better, for her family and her neighbors.
“I do not think that Congressman Hoyer, after 57 years as a career politician, 43 of them in the U.S. Congress, has the slightest clue about the real challenges regular people in Southern Maryland are facing on a day-to-day basis,” Crooms said. “For 43 years, he failed to codify our rights as women to reproductive care, allowing a Supreme Court decision to put our health and safety in peril.”
“I am a qualified and committed public servant, who has served her neighbors in various capacities for the last 20 years. I am an attorney and a scientist, a mom and a farmer. I know how the government works and how to make it work for us,” Crooms said upon being asked about her qualifications. “I have brought investment, jobs and opportunity to the community in every role I have held, including nearly $100 million in investment to Prince George's County in my role as an agency director.”
Crooms also said she took issue with Hoyer allowing himself and his PAC to be funded by special interests, not the interests of regular Marylanders.
“Southern Maryland also has one of the largest populations of Black voters in the state, many of whom have told us in no uncertain terms that they want representation that looks like them,” Bareebe said. “Young voters also need to be able to see themselves in their elected officials, and need to be actively engaged by our party to bring them into the political process.”
Bareebe, listed her qualifications, saying, “I am the founder and CEO of a health care company specializing in at-home care for seniors and persons with disabilities, so I want to bring my experience as an accountant, businesswoman and engaged community member to our nation's capital.”
Waldorf resident Mckayla Wilkes, the other Democratic candidate, did not respond to numerous requests for comment from Southern Maryland News by email and across other platforms. Wilkes has unsuccessfully run several times against Hoyer.
"We deserve a representative who will fight for environmental, economic, and racial justice," according to Wilkes' website. She said she co-founded the youth-led advocacy organization Schools Not Jails to "ensure no one experiences the school-to-prison pipeline."
Hoyer of Mechanicsville has represented the district since 1981, and touts his work on protecting access to affordable health care, expanding access to economic opportunity and ensuring local military bases and other federal facilities have resources they need.
"When I stepped down from my position as majority leader, I decided to remain in Congress because I had work I wanted to continue and complete," Hoyer said in an email announcing his intention to run again. "I also looked forward to returning to my work on the Appropriations Committee, which included securing the new FBI Headquarters location at Greenbelt. ... Returning to the Appropriations Committee was also an opportunity to continue my efforts to expand Judy Centers, support military installations in the Fifth District and address other priorities for Marylanders."
The Fifth District includes all of Charles, St. Mary's and Calvert counties as well as parts of Prince George's and Anne Arundel counties.
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