Challenger John Delaney Knocks Off Rep. Roscoe Bartlett in 6th District Race

November 8, 2012

John Delaney, left, who is running for Maryland’s 6th Congressional District, talks with Jim Racheff while campaigning at the William Talley Recreation Center in Frederick, Maryland on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun/MCT) –Courtesy of MCT Campus

After 10 terms in office and 20 years of dedicated service, Republican Representative Roscoe Bartlett gives up his seat in the Maryland 6th Congressional district to Democratic challenger John Delaney.

Rep. Bartlett received 104,901 votes, a mere 37 percent, to challenger Delaney’s 164,264 votes, which was 59 percent of the total amount of votes. With the aid of the newly drawn 6th district lines, due to a partisan redistricting, the district was made far more Democratic than what it previously was; aiding the victory of challenger Delaney. The new district still consists of Western Maryland, but now consists of parts of Southern Maryland like Frederick County and a large portion of Montgomery County.

Challenger Delaney took hold of three out of the five counties within the lines of district six including: Frederick, Montgomery and Washington County, while Rep. Bartlett won Garrett County and Allegany County with a huge win in Garrett County. Many voters in the 6th district felt like Rep. Bartlett had lost touch with modern politics and voters are simply ready to see a new face representing their district.

A key turning point for Bartlett was in October when asked about his position on student loans given by the federal government, Bartlett responded using a an analogy to a sensitive subject. Bartlett compared given out student loans to the Holocaust in an attempt to prove that student loans given out by the federal government were unconstitutional and that he did not support them. After this slip up, many voters were swayed away from Bartlett and turned their attention towards Delaney.

Delaney was also effective in securing the votes of the majority of the female population within the 6th district. Delaney opposes raising the cost of health care for women and supports the fair and equal treatment of women. This was something that many female voters failed to see in Rep. Bartlett.

During debates, Bartlett relied mainly on his 20 years of congressional experience and hoped that this would carry him through another four years. Challenger Delaney, on the other hand, relied more on his skills and experience as an entrepreneur and as a job creator in Maryland. Delaney’s work as the Co-founder and Chairman of the Board at CapitalSource Bank has led to the creation of thousands of jobs.