Parrott called Trone to back down on Friday afternoon, confirmed by both campaigns, and Trone described the call as “very cordial”.
Troone’s victory gives Democrats another victory in a still-fighting battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives that remains unresolved. With Democrats defying expectations and holding their seats in many tough districts while avoiding a series of troubling surprises elsewhere, such as Maryland’s 6th District, most political analysts have rallied despite a stiff challenge from Parrott. Think the throne is the most popular.
The rematch between Troone and Parrott is seen as the most exciting congressional race in Maryland, with Parrott hoping for a strong grassroots race and widespread dissatisfaction with the economy and President Biden to overwhelm Troone’s huge personal Wealth and incumbency advantages.
But after Total Wine & More co-founder Tron poured more than $12 million into his campaign, he largely dominated Parrott on TV broadcasts, portraying him as “extreme” on abortion and other social issues , while having enormous freedom to demonstrate his personal mission. Tron’s massive financial advantage has largely prevented any major investment from Republicans across the country, leaving Parrott trying to solve the problem with minimal resources. Parrott raised about $800,000 this year.
Troone had beaten engineer and longtime Maryland representative Parrott in 2020. But this year’s race has become more competitive after redistricting — thanks in large part to Parrott’s own struggles against the partisan division of labor in Annapolis. He and several other Republicans won a lawsuit that led to the creation of a new Congressional map this year, giving Republicans a chance in western Maryland.
But while the area has lost some of its bluer DC suburbs, it retains a large portion of densely populated dark blue Montgomery County, where Trone beat Parrott despite his redder but less populated western Maryland State is clearly popular, but he can’t make up the difference.
After counting and reporting more mail-in ballots, Trone has a narrow lead in Thursday night’s race, including in purple Frederick County. While there are thousands more to count — especially in Montgomery — his lead is only expected to grow. Parrott admitted that’s why he called Trone on Friday to congratulate him.
Despite the defeat, Parrott’s campaign has found a silver lining, believing the “extreme partisanship” of the last Congressional map has been corrected and that Marylanders must have a “real” view of the members of Congress they elected this year. say”.
“While this is not the outcome we wanted, it is not a failure and it is not the end,” Parrott said in a statement. “We united the Republican Party in Western Maryland. We faced overwhelming spending disadvantage that terrified Republicans across the country. We fought and won in court so that the district leveled the playing field and the Sixth District will never be taken for granted again.”
Tron was first elected in 2018, projecting an image of a centrist looking to use his business chops in Congress to forge a bipartisan deal. “You can’t just pass the messaging bill. That’s not going to do anything. That’s wasting my life,” Troone told a roomful of Democratic voters in Gaithersburg last month, before laughing: “So I went in, and I had a chili cheese dog with the Republicans. The Democrats — our cloakroom was mostly veggie burgers.”
In an interview Friday, Trone said he believed bipartisanship was the key to his victory. He also noted that he thinks Biden’s agenda is more appealing to voters than polls about his approval ratings suggest, and he’s not shy away from running on Biden’s record. He described major investments in roads, bridges and broadband — which he said were especially important in western Maryland — as well as investments in clean energy and provisions to reduce the cost of prescription drugs and health care for seniors in the Inflation Act. He appeared with Biden in Hagerstown last month to promote the president’s agenda.
“While Biden’s numbers are small and people are talking about it, I think people are starting to realize that in two years he’s had incredibly transformative policies, with a three-vote majority in the House and none in the Senate. Majority vote,” Tron said. “That record is the one I run. I’m on the president’s record, and I think voters responded.”
Tron became co-chair of the bipartisan Mental Health and Addiction Task Force, dedicating much of his congressional service to his personal issues. His nephew died of a fentanyl-related overdose in 2016, an experience Tron said made him want to lead bipartisan legislation to promote mental health and addiction resources to help those struggling with substance abuse people find a cure. He’s also trying to steer the criminal justice system away from incarcerating people as a solution to the drug crisis, which is what happened to his nephew.
Some of the local allies he worked with on the mission were featured in an emotional campaign ad for The Throne. Western Maryland is also facing challenges with the opioid epidemic, especially in the midst of a pandemic. “David believed in us,” Kevin Seamus said in an ad, his daughter lost to an overdose and linked to the throne. “For everyone with substance use disorder, there is no greater champion than David Tron.”
Tron also told his backstory as a farmer’s son in numerous commercials. He often tells the story of the foreclosure of his father’s farm in an attempt to make connections in the region’s rural areas. His work on some agricultural issues in Congress helped Tron win the Maryland Farm Bureau as well as the support of several other current Maryland lawmakers. But some conservative voters remain skeptical. “You see these ads and people think he’s a sly guy in this country — that’s not even close,” James Parrisse, a Frederick County voter who supports Parrott, said at a rally held for him by Cruz last month. “But that’s not to say he hasn’t worked hard and built a business called Total Wine & More, which has funded his campaign.”
Many conservative voters said they were excited about Parrott’s bid because Republicans have represented the district for a decade. Parrott, one of the most conservative members of the Maryland state legislature, has pledged to rein in government spending, close the U.S.-Mexico border, empower parents and children to educate and create a “place that protects life from the start.” to the end of life. “
Trone was staunchly against abortion in Parrot’s adroe Concerns about abortion rights. Parrott, a social conservative seeking to decriminalize same-sex marriage in the state, previously led a proposal for a 20-week abortion ban and said he would support a 15-week ban in Congress.
However, although political analysts believe that the overthrow roe And Parrott’s social conservatism favors Throne on the purple turf, and they also see Republican gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox as a drag on Parrott, possibly dampening the Republican euphoria that was needed for Parrott to win.
Cox lost to Governor-elect Wesmore (D) by more than 20 percentage points.
Tron said Friday that in his third term, he plans to continue to push for significant investments in mental health, addiction and medical research aid, while also focusing on criminal justice reform.
“We haven’t solved the addiction problem. We haven’t solved the mental health crisis. We have to keep doing more,” he said.
This article has been updated with a statement from Parrott and an interview with Trone.