Former Secret Service agent Daniel Bongino says he will run for Congress, rather than seek the Republican nomination for Maryland governor.
The Washington Post reports Bongino announced his intentions Saturday at a convention of Young Maryland Republicans in Rockville. Bongino says he is eyeing the 6th District seat that Democratic Rep. John Delaney won from former Rep. Roscoe Bartlett last year.
Bongino says he will formally announce his congressional bid June 18. He says Republicans should never have lost Roscoe's seat. The 6th District encompasses Garrett, Allegany, and Washington counties as well as parts of Frederick and Montgomery counties.
Bartlett, elected in 1992, was the first Republican to represent the district since 1971.
Bongino said Saturday he was confident he could have won the GOP's nomination for governor. But he said he decided against a gubernatorial run.
Bongino was the Republican Party's nominee for U.S. Senate last year. He was defeated by Sen. Ben Cardin, and only managed to win 26.3 percent of the votes cast in a three-man race.
