Blue America Endorsement: Mckayla Wilkes (MD-05)

There's a big primary on April 28-- a kind of Northeast mini-Super Tuesday-- featuring New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, Rhode Island and Maryland. For the sake of argument say Bernie sweeps all 6 states. That could be the biggest news of the day, unless there's a major upset in Maryland's 5th district. The 5th, the southern part of the state, one big DC suburb that includes all or part of Prince George's, Charles, St. Mary's, Calvert and Anne Arundel counties. The district is very blue-- D+16. McCain, Romney and Trump, all won around a third of the vote. So what's the upset that could outshine the presidential race?

MD-05 has been the home base for the congressman from K Street since 1981. That would be Steny Hoyer and that would be far too long for anyone to be in Congress. Hoyer stopped representing his constituents long ago and is the most lobbyist-oriented member of Congress. As majority leader, he slows down anything and everything that smacks of progressivism-- and his opponent this cycle, Mckayla Wilkes, is all about progressivism. Blue America officially endorsed her campaign today and I asked her to tell Blue America members a little something about herself. If you'd like to help her replace Steny Hoyer-- and put someone who backs Medicare-for-All, the Green New Deal, criminal justice reform, free state college, money in politics reform... into the House where an incumbent who opposes all those things is now, please consider clicking on the Blue America 2020 congressional thermometer on the right. 





Running To Take Power Back From Special Interests
-by Mckayla Wilkes

My name is Mckayla Wilkes. Growing up, I didn’t believe in politics and I didn’t trust politicians. My father was murdered before I was born, and so my aunts helped raise me. After I lost my Aunt Sharon in the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the Pentagon, I needed help. I needed someone to talk to. Instead, I was incarcerated for skipping school. Like so many people across the country, I’ve experienced firsthand the exploitation of our healthcare and criminal justice system. Profit is centered instead of people, and corporate politicians are more beholden to their donors than their constituents.

My congressman, Steny Hoyer, takes money from the fossil fuel industry, private health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and the war machine. He refuses to support Medicare-for-All, the Green New Deal, or ending the War on Drugs. Just this past year, he referred to cannabis as a “gateway drug.” As someone who was arrested for possession of marijuana, I know the toll that the racist and misguided War on Drugs has had on our communities. I’m the right person to represent Maryland’s 5th District because I can resonate with so many of the ordinary, working-class people here.

While Hoyer may have large corporate PAC donors, we can defeat him. Since 1990, no challenger to Hoyer has raised more than $6,000. I’ve already raised over $150,000 and I’m outpacing Hoyer in small-dollar donations 4-to-1. Moreover, we’re actually out in the community; I’m holding 8 town halls around the district this winter, and my team and I knocked on over 6,000 doors last weekend alone. Everywhere we go, it’s clear that Marylanders are fully ready for change. If we can speak to enough people before April 28th, we will win.

  I’m running because I believe it will take a movement to pass Medicare-for-All. It will take a movement to pass a Green New Deal, to end homelessness, to reform our criminal justice system, and to end the endless wars. I’m running to be a part of that movement and to bring in people like me who didn’t trust the political process. I’m running to take power back from special interests and be a representative who is responsive to her constituents. Above all, I’m running to create a fairer, more just, and more compassionate world. All I need is your help to do it.