6th District

A leading Democrat and the Republican incumbent running for Congress in Maryland's battleground 6th District turned their attention to the economy Tuesday, previewing a looming clash over the top issue of next year's election. State Sen. Rob Garagiola, who officially launched his campaign Tuesday, used his first major address to argue that Republicans in Congress have all but ignored the economy. He said government needs to invest more to create jobs instead of just looking for ways to trim spiraling budget deficits.

Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett, the Republican incumbent fighting to keep his seat in Maryland's 6th District, fired what could be considered the first line of attack against his Democratic opponent in the general election race, criticizing John Delaney in a tweet. But hours later, the Bartlett campaign deleted the Twitter post without explanation. On Monday evening, Bartlett's campaign retweeted a comment about Delaney's stances on energy. The item stated that Maryland "gets 51% [of its]

Democrats living in Maryland's Sixth Congressional District have a rare opportunity in their upcoming primary. There's a different kind of candidate running for the seat held by longtime Republican incumbent Roscoe Bartlett. His name is Milad Pooran. Dr. Pooran is a 35-year-old Iranian-American physician and veteran of the U.S. Air Force Medical Corps — not the profile of a typical congressional aspirant. He's a long shot to win the nomination; even if he does, and despite the fact the district was gerrymandered last year to make it more favorable for the Democrats, a victory in November is no sure thing.

  When he delivered his budget proposal last week, Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz announced that his plan would include money for air conditioning at a dozen schools.  The County Auditor's office has prepared a chart for the County Council showing the proportion of schools with and without air conditioning in each councilmanic district.  The chart ( https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AsRDIs5LxYeQdFVjREdOVENLZU5RV2c2UU0yaTRKM1E )  shows that under Kamenetz's plan, the councilmanic district with the highest proportion of air conditioned schools would be Councilman Ken Oliver's 4 th District, with 82 percent of buildings air conditioned.

Democrat businessman John Delaney won the endorsement of President Bill Clinton on Monday in his bid for Maryland's 6th Congressional District. Clinton's endorsement is a significant one for the Potomac financier, who has widely been seen as having less institutional Democratic support in the competitive race than his leading opponent, state Sen. Rob Garagiola. The announcement also comes as Garagiola's campaign has questioned Delaney's loyalty to the party, noting a political contribution to Maryland Republican Rep. Andy Harris in 2010.

As Tuesday's congressional primary approaches, Western Maryland Democrats, longing for a change in representation, have reason to be optimistic. Republicans, on the other hand, have reason to sing the blues. The change in the 6th Congressional District from solid "red" to mostly "blue" illustrates both the strength of the Maryland Democratic Party and the existing convoluted redistricting process - a process badly in need of change. One frustrated Western Maryland Republican delegate, Neil Parrott of Washington County, has started a petition drive to bring the state redistricting map to referendum.

Democratic congressional candidate John Delaney outraised state Sen. Rob Garagiola by more than three-to-one and then loaned himself an additional $1.3 million this year, giving the Potomac banker a significant financial advantage in the competitive 6th Congressional District. With less than two weeks to go before the April 3 primary, Delaney reported raising $767,709 from contributors before the personal loan, campaign finance reports filed with Federal Election Commission at midnight Thursday showed.

Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, the 10-term Republican incumbent fighting for reelection in Maryland's redrawn 6th Congressional District, will begin airing his first television advertisement today, a mostly introductory spot that focuses on the lawmaker's fiscal record. Sporting some trendy, new eye glasses, Bartlett says that future generations should "have the same opportunity for success that I've had. " The narrator explains how Bartlett rose from poverty to become a scientist and businessman and describes Bartlett as a "citizen legislator.

Banker John Delaney knew that Maryland's ruling Democrats had someone else in mind to become the state's next 6th District congressman. But the 48-year-old multimillionaire from Potomac jumped into the race anyway. And despite early missteps, Delaney's campaign appears to be gaining momentum with just over a week to go before the April 3 Democratic primary. In the past month, he has won endorsements from former President Bill Clinton and The Washington Post , among others.

In Essex, where political campaign signs sprout like late-summer mums, Michael J. Collins sits in a back room of his campaign headquarters on gritty Eastern Avenue looking for a fight.But he isn't likely to find one immediately.The incumbent state senator from eastern Baltimore County's 6th District appears the odds-on favorite to lead his ticket to victory in the primary Sept. 13.Republicans are fielding a sizable share of contenders, but in a district where Democrats hold a disproportionate share of registered voters, GOP chances are viewed as slim in November's general election.

As he campaigned in the most closely watched congressional race in Maryland, state Sen. Rob Garagiola had an advantage his fellow Democratic candidates envied: the support of the politically powerful labor movement. More than a stamp of approval, endorsements from unions that represent teachers, health care workers and government employees also brought an army of volunteers to a campaign with the aim of getting voters to the polls. But despite labor's support, the Germantown attorney lost to John Delaney in Maryland's 6th Congressional District by 25 percentage points in Tuesday's primary election.

For months, John Delaney ran his campaign for Congress as an outsider. But the day after he crushed his competition for the Democratic nomination in Maryland's 6th District, the Potomac businessman found himself lunching with two of the most powerful party leaders in the state. What's more, his campaign was fielding dozens of calls of support from top state Democrats and labor groups — many of whom had backed his leading opponent, state Sen. Rob Garagiola. Democrats moved rapidly Wednesday to coalesce around the first-time candidate, signaling the beginning of a general election fight for the state's westernmost district that will dominate the political landscape this year and help decide control of the House of Representatives.

A wealthy Potomac businessman whose very candidacy challenged state Democratic leaders won a hotly contested congressional primary in Western Maryland on Tuesday, setting up a battle for the seat in November that will help decide control of the House of Representatives. John Delaney, a banker and first-time candidate, managed to topple state Sen. Rob Garagiola in the race, even though leading Democrats in Annapolis such as Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller had the legislator in mind when they redrew the 6th Congressional District last year to make it more competitive.

As Tuesday's congressional primary approaches, Western Maryland Democrats, longing for a change in representation, have reason to be optimistic. Republicans, on the other hand, have reason to sing the blues. The change in the 6th Congressional District from solid "red" to mostly "blue" illustrates both the strength of the Maryland Democratic Party and the existing convoluted redistricting process - a process badly in need of change. One frustrated Western Maryland Republican delegate, Neil Parrott of Washington County, has started a petition drive to bring the state redistricting map to referendum.

State Sen. David Brinkley, who is running for the Republican nomination in Maryland's 6th Congressional District, is airing the first television ad of his campaign Friday. The 30-second spot takes aim at incumbent Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett without mentioning him by name. "Our fiscal crisis was caused by incumbents -- our incumbent, too. Enough is enough. " Brinkley, of New Market, is running against seven other Republicans, including Bartlett, in the April 3 primary. The campaign said the ad will continue through the election.

A leading immigrant rights group has endorsed state Sen. Rob Garagiola in Maryland's competitive 6th Congressional District race. CASA in Action, the political arm of CASA de Maryland, announced Monday it had endorsed Garagiola in the April 3 primary against Democratic opponent John Delaney. Garagiola also picked up the support of state Del. Ana Sol Gutierrez, a Montgomery County Democrat.  The endorsements could be particularly important in November when a proposal to allow some illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition rates will be on the ballot.

Republicans running for Congress in the competitive 6th District piled on Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett during a debate Sunday, arguing that the GOP incumbent lacks the sense of urgency needed to win in what is likely to be among the most competitive House races in the country. Most of the GOP candidates running in the April 3 primary to unseat Bartlett and take on the Democratic nominee in November used the debate to offer criticism of their fellow Republican's 10-term career in the House of Representatives, even though their positions on most of the issues did not diverge from his significantly.

Banker John Delaney knew that Maryland's ruling Democrats had someone else in mind to become the state's next 6th District congressman. But the 48-year-old multimillionaire from Potomac jumped into the race anyway. And despite early missteps, Delaney's campaign appears to be gaining momentum with just over a week to go before the April 3 Democratic primary. In the past month, he has won endorsements from former President Bill Clinton and The Washington Post , among others.