As women seek open congressional seats in Maryland, reproductive rights are front and center

FREDERICK, Md. — In an election where the future of reproductive rights is on the ballot in Maryland and elsewhere across the country, the state's all-male congressional delegation stands to gain an influx of women.

It could happen in Maryland's 6th Congressional District, where Democrat April McClain Delaney is running against conservative Republican Neil Parrott, a former member of the Maryland House of Delegates. They're competing to represent a wide swath of rural Maryland and more affluent liberal suburbs of Washington, D.C.

In a year when voters also could elect the nation's first female president, women are vying for two other open seats in Maryland's 10-member congressional delegation. The delegation has been all-male since former Sen. Barbara Mikulski retired in 2016, but the state has a long history of female officeholders from both parties.

McClain Delaney, a mother of four daughters whose husband previously represented the district, says she wants to protect the reproductive rights of her children and other young people in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 decision to end the constitutional right to an abortion and leave those decisions to the states. She previously worked in the Biden administration's Department of Commerce and has focused much of her career on protecting children's online safety.

''I can't believe that my mother, my daughters' grandmother, had more reproductive freedoms than they currently do,'' she said in a recent interview. She said she once experienced an ectopic pregnancy that could have been fatal if restrictive abortion laws had limited her access to life-saving medical care.

Parrott, meanwhile, has deflected questions about reproductive rights on the campaign trail. He made his anti-abortion stance clear during 12 years in the Maryland State House. But now, he says, it's ''really a non-issue'' because he doesn't believe either political party can get enough congressional votes to regulate abortion nationally — a position similar to that of former President Donald Trump, the GOP presidential nominee.

That approach also echoes recent efforts by other conservatives and leaders of the anti-abortion movement now struggling to appeal to voters in blue-leaning Maryland. The state's voters will also consider a constitutional amendment to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.

U.S. House members are only required to live in the state they represent.

McClain Delaney has used personal funds to bolster her campaign and received endorsements from big-name Democrats, including former House speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin.

She's also outspent Parrott by a wide margin, according to AdImpact, which tracks campaign spending. Just since the May 14 primaries, Democrats have spent more than $600,000 on advertising in the 6th District race, compared to slightly more than $30,000 spent by Republicans.

Those figures are not expected to change much between now and Nov. 5, with McClain-Delaney having a nearly 20-1 advantage in ad spending reserved the rest of the way. Neither candidate has received much support from the national parties or outside groups, a possible indicator that both sides view the seat as safely Democratic.

Parrot is a longtime resident of Hagerstown, a small city in western Maryland surrounded by farmland. A traffic engineer by trade, he said he can relate to people dealing with high grocery bills and unaffordable housing.

But McClain Delaney, 60, argues she's more ideologically in line with most 6th District voters. She calls herself a ''common sense, common ground'' candidate. The daughter of an Idaho potato farmer, she says she can get Washington politicians to address the needs of working families.

McClain Delaney has attacked Parrott's record in the Maryland House of Delegates, particularly on issues impacting women.

Parrott, in turn, has accused McClain Delaney of lying and taking things out of context. In an interview last week, Parrott said he supports the right to abortion in cases of rape, incest and when the mother's life is at risk.

Tensions between the candidates erupted into a heated exchange during the last few minutes of a recent public forum.

''Shame on her,'' Parrott said, pointing a finger at McClain Delaney, who denied putting out false information as members of the audience chanted and jeered.

The 6th District hasn't always favored Democrats. It was represented by Republican Roscoe Bartlett for 20 years before McClain Delaney's husband, John Delaney, won the seat in 2012 following a redistricting that helped Democrats.

Seven of Maryland's eight House members are Democrats, as are the state's two senators. Three women are vying for open seats this election cycle.

In Maryland's deep blue 3rd Congressional District, state Sen. Sarah Elfreth won a crowded Democratic primary. Her main rival was former U.S. Capitol police officer Harry Dunn, who defended the U.S. Capitol against Jan. 6 rioters. In 2018, Elfreth became the youngest woman elected to the state Senate. She's pledged to prioritize reproductive health and affordable child care.

Reproductive freedom is also at the forefront of the U.S. Senate race between former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan and Alsobrooks, a Democrat who argues women have too much at stake to risk losing Democrats' thin Senate majority. She said having more women at the table is a big deal.

''I believe it makes our policies more complete,'' she said in a recent interview. ''And so this is a moment that gives us the opportunity to make sure that we are adding women — mothers and daughters and sisters — to the Senate to ensure that the variety of lived experiences are represented in that body.''