Republican nominee Neil Parrott and Democratic nominee April McClain Delaney got into a heated exchange Sunday night that involved finger-pointing, grabbing, and yelling between the two candidates in the final minutes of the Frederick County League of Women Congressional District debate in Frederick, Maryland.
The two candidates are vying for the competitive seat of Maryland’s 6th Congressional District, a once-Republican seat held by 11-term Republican Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, who was unseated in 2012 by Democratic Rep. John Delaney. The district is currently represented by Rep. David Trone (D-MD), who unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate, which leaves an open congressional seat.
A September 2024 Gonzales Poll showed Parrott to be ahead of Delaney in a tight race by 2 points (41% to 39%), with 20% of undecided respondents. The western Maryland district is a slightly Democratic district with heavily conservative and rural areas but also includes some of the heavily Democratic suburbs of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The poll suggests that this tight race could play a role in the control of Congress. Maryland currently only has one Republican congressman, Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), representing the 1st District.
As the candidates wrapped their closing remarks in the debate, their exchanges grew testy.
“You know, it’s interesting that my opponent says she doesn’t want to ‘villainize’ people but what about the lies that you put out about me on your mailers?” Parrott said in the final two minutes of his closing remarks.
“Not lies!” Delaney said.
“It’s disgusting. They are complete lies,” he responded.
Delaney continued to attempt to talk over him.
“The lies that my opponent … shame on her,” he said as he pointed at her.
Delaney then was heard off-mic arguing back as she pointed at Parrott while the moderators attempted to take control of the debate.
“If you look at her mailers, if you look at her ads that’s what you get. Look at my ads. You get practical common-sense solutions but I think it’s because you have no record. You have nothing to brag about and have nothing to say—” Parrott said as Delaney began to interject but he interrupted to remind her: “My two minutes.”
“Nothing to move forward with because all you do is attack me instead of promoting your own record but you don’t have one. I think it’s time we bring practical solutions to Washington, D.C.,” he said. “Hypocrisy needs to go. I think we need to work on solving the inflation. We need to work on bringing good paying jobs to western Maryland. … we need to secure the border on day one. We need to help our police and make sure we don’t have sanctuary cities.”
He continued, “This is a very important election and here you have someone who lives in the district. Someone who cares about the district and invests in the district. And someone who has not been invested in the district.”
Parrott went on to describe his work in the community and encouraged people to vote for him.
As he wrapped his comments, his Democratic opponent is seen reaching over to grab his arm and then begins finger pointing in his face. Their mics are silenced so the conversation cannot be heard over the moderators thanking the candidates and the crowd applauding.
Parrott is seen arguing back with her and then he gets up, raising his hands to gesture he’s not listening to her anymore. He takes his papers off the table while she continues to talk to him furiously. He responds and then looks away from her as he exits the stage. He came back a few moments later to sit next to Delaney as the event ended and reached out to shake hands with her.
“She started defending herself and arguing with me, where she pointed her finger in my face and even grabbed my arm. At that point, I threw my hands back and stood up to leave to try to defuse the situation,” Parrott told the Washington Examiner about what happened.
“I was dumbfounded that my opponent would become so irate and interrupt me several times during the closing statement. I’ve been involved in many debates over my 12 years as a State Delegate and in running for Congress. I have never seen this happen in any debate,” he added.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Delaney for her comment on the debate.
Parrott is a former Maryland state lawmaker, Hagerstown resident, and traffic engineer. Delaney is the wife of former Rep. John Delaney who previously was congressman in the district between 2013 to 2019 before he became a candidate in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries. She is a Democratic attorney, and prior to starting her campaign, she was the deputy assistant secretary for Communications and Information at the Department of Commerce, where she was involved in the management of broadband money coming from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
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Both political parties are championing these candidates as their potential stars in 2024 congressional elections. In late September, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added Delaney to their “Red to Blue” program. The National Republican Congressional Committee added Parrott to their list of six candidates to their class of 2024 Young Guns program.
The debate was held on the campus of Hood College in Frederick, Maryland.
