ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) – Harry Dunn, the former police officer who defended the U.S. Capitol from rioters on Jan. 6, 2021, is running in Maryland's crowded Democratic primary. A fixed number of 22, several state legislators will participate, including state senators. Sarah Elfreth, who is in a tight race for an open seat in Congress.
Mr. Dunn's celebrity helped draw national attention to the primary race to replace retiring Congressman John Sarbanes.Democratic Party announced in October he won't seek a 10th term.
Supporters in the Democratic-heavy 3rd Congressional District, located between Baltimore and the nation's capital, have praised Dunn as a champion of democracy. He testified at a hearing of a House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
“It took a lot of courage to do what he did,” said Kathy Dixon, who welcomed Dan into her home with other supporters at Serna Park. “He's a brave man, and that's what we need, brave people.”
Five state legislators familiar to voters in the district are also gaining support in Tuesday's primaries.
Alex Miletich said his affinity with the state senator was a big reason he voted early for Elfreth, who is in his second term in the district that includes the state capital.
“This is a big field,” Miletić said after voting early at an Annapolis entertainment center. “It's hard to understand all the different candidates' positions, but she was my Maryland state senator. I felt like she represented my district well, so I wanted to talk about its history and… I chose it based on its popularity.”
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Everett Bellamy said he voted for Terry Hill, a physician, because he liked what the Howard County councilman said at the candidate forum.
“I was impressed with her. I think it's good to have some diversity in Congress. It's not all former student government presidents, political science majors and lawyers,” he said in Annapolis. said Bellamy, who voted early. “Let's mix it up a bit.”
Dan, who? announced his candidacy In January, on the eve of the third anniversary of the violence at the Capitol by a mob of Donald Trump supporters that disrupted the certification of Joe Biden's 2020 presidential election, voters regularly asked Biden as a police officer. He said he was grateful. He has campaigned on being on the front lines of defending democracy.
“I believe I'm the best candidate for this moment in time. That's my message to people,” Dunn said in a recent interview, predicting a close primary. said.
Elfreth has emphasized her work as a state representative and supporting constituents. She also has support from the state's teachers union, environmental groups and labor unions.
“This is a campaign focused on the fundamentals of how to build the biggest tent and interact with as many voters as possible,” Elfreth said.
Dunn, who is running for office for the first time, has had great campaign fundraising success, raising approximately $4.6 million from donors across the country. Elfreth has raised about $1.5 million, but has also received more than $4 million from super political action committees.
Funding from the United Democracy Project, which works with a pro-Israel group known as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, has made headlines, funding TV ads and mailers supporting Elfreth. Elfreth said in an interview that he had no advance notice of the donation.
“I only found out about it when other people noticed, when the commercials started airing and the mail started to go down,” Elfreth said.