Maryland's 7th Congressional District
Hello, everyone! Just wanting to spread the word now that sample ballots have started coming in ahead of the Maryland primaries in June, more specifically those of us in with Maryland's 7th Congressional District!
As a young person who first voted for Kweisi Mfume in 2022, I've found myself increasingly disappointed over the last 4 years, especially knowing that Mfume was once taking a stand against Apartheid in South Africa and actively got Baltimore to divest from the Apartheid regime, stood with Nelson Mandela in 1994, and went on to become the president of the NAACP for nearly 8 years, all the way to 2004. With a track record and legacy like that, I would have loved for his return, after the unfortunate passing of Elijah Cummings in 2019, to be a return to form for Mfume.
However, it seems in his later years, he's lost his spark. Now, Mfume happily takes money from AIPAC, refuses to condemn Israel's actions and the genocide of Palestinians in any meaningful sort of way, and seems in line to match the outgoing Representative Steny Hoyer in this pattern of aging, outdated representatives unwilling to take a stand, getting by election after election on name recognition, funding from PACs, and 'seniority' as well as 'experience'. But what good is that experience if they aren't using it to take a stand when it counts, and make their voices, OUR voices, heard as we've voted for?
I know for certain that I don't feel represented when my tax money is going to overseas wars and funding a NEW Apartheid, one not at all unlike the settler-colonialist regime that once controlled South Africa.
This is shaping up to be one of those critical moments in American history, not to mention world history, as the Trump Administration continues to erode US relations with the world, civil rights domestically of marginalized groups, and pushes on further warmongering in Iran.
We need for a change to come, and Democrats haven't been able to shape that change as of recent. Representatives like Kweisi Mfume, and in fact many of the others in Congress here in Maryland, as well as around the country, tend to go unchallenged during Primaries, but in the end, in safe Democrat districts like these, the primaries are FAR more pivotal than the general in selecting who represents us. And this year, we have that opportunity, and we can't just let it pass quietly.
City Councilor Mark Conway is running for Congress here in the 7th District, attempting to challenge and primary Mfume, and running on a platform endorsed by Track AIPAC and Peace Action for his vow to refuse any money from PACs, especially AIPAC. At the age of 40, he serves as a stark contrast to the 77-year-old Mfume, who will be 78 come the general election this November. Furthermore, he's running on a platform focused on the high expenses I know myself and many others here in Baltimore have faced with energy costs and ever-rising bills paid to borderline monopolies like the Exelon-owned BGE. Conway has experience in City Council, has taken a stand against ICE when they come for our neighbors and shove civilians into concentration camps for simply being immigrants, for the color of their skin, and has made it clear that he intends to stand on the right side of history when it matters most, when we need it most.
I know for certain that I'm not going to let this opportunity pass me by, and I know who I'm going to be voting for in 2026. By getting ahead of the election, this gives us plenty of opportunities to not simply put blind hope into a name, but to reach out to Councilor Conway and express our concerns on what we, the people of Baltimore, hope to be represented on if he were to be our Congressperson. We need to make our voices heard, and this is our chance to get involved when it counts most! I love this city, I'm proud to live here, and I'm certain I will only continue to be proud of Charm City!