Maryland State Sen. Sarah Elfreth defeated former U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn in a crowded congressional Democratic primary.
Elfreth prevailed in a primary with 22 candidates to replace outgoing Rep. John Sarbanes, who announced in October he would not seek a 10th term. The heavily Democratic 3rd Congressional District runs between Baltimore and the nation’s capital.
During the campaign, Elfreth highlighted her work as a state legislator, getting bills passed and helping her constituents. She also won endorsements from the state’s teachers union, environmental groups and unions.
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“This has been a campaign focused on the fundamentals of how do we build the biggest tent and talk to as many voters as possible,” Elfreth told The Associated Press in a recent interview.
Elfreth won her first Maryland Senate term in 2018, becoming the youngest woman ever elected to the state Senate. As a legislator in a district next to the Chesapeake Bay, she has supported legislation to boost the oyster population in the nation’s largest estuary, invest in clean energy jobs and take action against rising sea levels.
Supporters praised her for being accessible and helpful to constituents, as well as for her positions on environmental issues.
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“She’s very much in the trenches, and you can call her on the phone at any time and she’ll call you back and talk about whatever it is that you want to talk about,” said Susan Zevin, who voted for Elfreth at Annapolis High School on Tuesday.
Dunn's celebrity helped draw national attention to the 22-candidate primary to replace Sarbanes. The Democrat announced in October he would not seek a 10th term.
Supporters of the former officer praised Dunn as a defender of democracy. He testified at a hearing of the House committee that probed the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol. Some voters who ended up supporting Elfreth instead described it as a tough choice, describing Dunn as a hero.
Alex Miletich said his familiarity with his state senator was a big reason he voted early for Elfreth, who is in her second term in a district that includes the state capital.
“It's a wide-open field,” Miletich said after voting early at a recreational facility in Annapolis. “It's hard to get a sense of all the different candidates' positions, but she's been my Maryland senator. I feel like she's represented my district well, and so I went with that history and name recognition.”
Dunn, who announced his candidacy in January, a day before the third anniversary of the violent attack at the Capitol by a mob of Donald Trump supporters that disrupted the certification of the 2020 presidential election for Joe Biden, said voters regularly thank him for serving as a police officer. He campaigned on being on the front lines defending democracy.
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