Who is running in the
MD-6 Democratic Primary —
and where do they really stand?

McClain Delaney grew up in Buhl, Idaho as the daughter of a potato farmer. She earned a JD from Georgetown, where she met her husband former Congressman John Delaney, who held this very seat from 2013 to 2019. She built a 30+ year career in communications law, served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Communications in Biden's Commerce Department, and was Washington Director of Common Sense Media. She was elected in 2024 with 53% of the vote — Maryland's 6th is a competitive district and her win was not trivial.

Her freshman term has been defined by two contradictions: she has been a vocal critic of Trump on Venezuela strikes, the Iran war, and executive overreach — even calling for impeachment proceedings — while simultaneously being the only Maryland Democrat to vote for the Laken Riley Act, one of the most cruel immigration laws in recent history. She has since admitted she regrets the vote. The damage, however, is done.

She is also the wealthiest member of Maryland's congressional delegation according to the Baltimore Sun, with disclosure forms listing three significant real estate holdings. This primary is shaping up to be one of the most expensive House primaries in the country.

David Trone is the billionaire co-founder of Total Wine & More, the largest private wine and spirits retailer in the US. He held the MD-6 seat from 2019 to 2025, during which time he endorsed McClain Delaney as his successor, helped her campaign, and celebrated her 2024 victory. He then ran for Senate, lost the Democratic primary to Angela Alsobrooks by more than 10 points despite spending $62 million of his own money — one of the most expensive self-funded Senate losses in history.

Having lost the Senate race, he announced in December 2025 that he wants the House seat back. He is now running against the woman he endorsed, positioning himself as the progressive alternative and attacking her on the Laken Riley Act. This is audacious given that he himself voted to fund ICE during his tenure in the same seat. Politico described this primary as a race between "two of the wealthiest members of Congress in recent history."

His personal AIPAC giving is disqualifying for progressive voters — he is a "minyan" level donor, having personally pledged at least $100,000 to AIPAC. He is not just a recipient of AIPAC money — he is one of their major financial backers within the Democratic Party.

Kiambo "Bo" White is a labor organizer running in MD-6 for the second consecutive cycle — he also ran in the 2024 Democratic primary. His background in labor organizing places him firmly in the working-class and progressive tradition, with natural alignment with immigrant worker communities who are disproportionately represented in labor organizing contexts. His campaign is based in Frederick County.

White has limited public record compared to the major candidates, making full issue assessment difficult. However, his labor organizing background is a meaningful signal — organizers who work with immigrant communities tend to have much stronger instincts on immigration rights than career politicians who read polls.

If Goldstein were not in this race, White would be worth a much closer look. As it stands, his viability is low in a crowded primary, and progressive votes are better consolidated behind Goldstein.

Ethan Wechtaluk was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, earned a bachelor's from Virginia Tech (2010) and a graduate degree from Penn State (2014). He is a survivor of the 2007 Virginia Tech mass shooting — an experience that shapes his advocacy on gun safety and government accountability. His career has been in consulting for federal agencies on service delivery.

He is the only minor candidate to have completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, which gives us some insight into his platform. He describes himself as "a lifelong fighter for what matters" and says he's running because the district deserves someone who "won't back down from tough fights — whether it's protecting democracy, defending reproductive freedom, or tackling the climate crisis." He is based in Frederick County (Clarksburg).

His platform is broadly progressive on domestic issues but there is no public record on immigration rights or Palestine specifically.

George Gluck was born in Czechoslovakia and has lived in Rockville for decades. He holds degrees in mathematics from Brooklyn College, applied mathematics from Johns Hopkins, and computer management from George Washington University — and has worked as a mathematician and software engineer. He serves as social action chair of Kol Shalom Congregation in Rockville and as a Montgomery County election judge.

Gluck has been running for this seat — or nearby seats — since at least 2018, including as a Green Party candidate in the 2020 general election, and in the 2022 and 2024 Democratic primaries. He is famous for his extremely lean campaigns: he once declared his entire campaign budget was $400. He has never come close to winning but has never stopped running either.

He is genuinely progressive, wants to join the House Progressive Caucus, and would be a solid vote on virtually every issue progressive voters care about. He simply cannot win, and in a crowded primary where Goldstein needs every progressive vote, a vote for Gluck is effectively a vote wasted.

Daniel Krakower is an attorney who has declared his candidacy for MD-6 but has the least publicly available information of any candidate in the race. He has not completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, has no significant endorsements or fundraising reported, and has made very little media presence.

Without a public record on key issues — immigration, Palestine, women's rights, economic justice — it is impossible to make a meaningful assessment of his candidacy for progressive voters. His legal background could be an asset in Congress, but the absence of public positioning is itself a signal that this is not a serious campaign.

A. Mark Wilks owns a neighborhood grocery store in the district and is running in MD-6 for the second time, having also run in the 2024 Democratic primary. His small business background — particularly in food retail — gives him a ground-level understanding of supply chain issues, community economic health, and the daily realities of working-class constituents.

Like Kiambo White, Wilks represents the kind of community-rooted candidate who often brings perspectives missing from Congress. Unlike career politicians, he knows what it means to serve a neighborhood directly. However, without a public record on progressive policy issues, voters cannot make an informed assessment of where he stands on the issues that matter most.