MARYLAND, USA — Maryland U.S. Rep. David Trone was reelected, defeating Republican Neil Parrott in a rematch that was much closer this time due to changes in the western Maryland district’s boundaries.
Trone, a Democrat, won a third term to the state’s 6th Congressional District after it was redrawn with fewer Democrats than under the state’s previous congressional map due to a successful court challenge by the GOP.
Trone’s victory preserves the 7-1 advantage Maryland Democrats hold over Republicans in the state’s delegation to the U.S. House.
A Maryland judge ruled this year that the state’s congressional map approved in December after the latest census was unconstitutional because of partisan gerrymandering.
Trone beat Parrott by about 20 percentage points in 2020.
Trone, who is the wealthy owner of Total Wine & More, spent more than $12 million of his own money on his campaign. That gave him a huge fundraising advantage over Parrott, a state legislator from Washington County.
Trone has focused on issues including opioid addiction, mental health, medical research and criminal justice reform while in office.
In a statement on Twitter, Trone thanked his opponent for the Friday afternoon phone in which he conceded in the race.
"I want to thank Del. Parrott for his phone call this afternoon conceding the race. My promise to him, and to all of the people of the 6th District, is this: I’ll continue to work across the aisle to deliver results and get things done," Trone said in the tweet. "Thank you, Maryland! Let’s get back to work."
Parrott, in a statement from his campaign, said that though he did not win, the actions over the last year are a big victory for the people of Western and Central Maryland. As an example, he stated that 'extreme partisan gerrymandering' has been corrected.
“While this wasn’t the outcome we wanted, it isn’t a defeat and it isn’t the end. We unified the Republican Party in western Maryland. We faced an overwhelming spending disadvantage that scared off national Republicans," Parrott said. "We fought - and won - in court so that this district is fair and competitive, and the people of the sixth district will never be taken for granted again.”
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