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Despite his stinging loss to Republican Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. in 2014, Maryland Rep. Anthony G. Brown (D) is open to making another play for the governor鈥檚 mansion in 2022.
鈥淲hatever and however I can put my skills and ability to the highest use on behalf of Marylanders or my neighbors then that鈥檚 what I鈥檒l do,鈥� Brown, 57, told Maryland Matters in a recent interview in his Washington, D.C., office.
Right now, Brown stressed that he鈥檚 focused on representing Maryland鈥檚 4th District in Congress, which takes in more than half of Prince George鈥檚 County and a slice of Anne Arundel County. He took office in January 2017, after Rep. Donna Edwards (D) stepped down to run for retiring U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski鈥檚 seat.
But there will be a race to replace the term-limited Hogan in 2022, and Brown isn鈥檛 ruling out another run.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got an open seat in 2022, and if the good Lord says, 鈥楬ey, that鈥檚 where I need you to be at that time,鈥� just like the good Lord said in November 2014, 鈥業 just don鈥檛 need you in the State House right now.鈥� 鈥� A few months later, Barbara Mikulski announced her retirement and I was like, 鈥極K, well I guess he wants me in Congress.鈥欌��
Brown cited a series of factors that he thinks propelled Hogan鈥檚 stunning upset victory, like low voter turnout, a lack of excitement among Democrats and soaring GOP enthusiasm.
But some Maryland Democrats have accused Brown of running a lackluster campaign that emphasized his military service but offered few bold policy initiatives or attempts to highlight the record of outgoing Gov. Martin J. O鈥橫alley (D), for whom Brown served as lieutenant governor.
Losing a statewide race in deep blue Maryland means 鈥測ou have Democrats who are voting against you,鈥� Brown conceded.
But 鈥渁s bizarre as it may sound,鈥� Brown said, he now views his loss as a 鈥済reat experience鈥� and 鈥渁 great failure.
鈥淚 learned a lot about myself, I learned a lot about Maryland,鈥� he said. Brown called it a 鈥減rivilege to be the party nominee鈥� and to have gotten support from 鈥渉undreds of thousands of Marylanders saying, 鈥榊eah, I think that you鈥檙e the guy to lead the state.鈥欌��
Whether Democrats who feel burned by Brown鈥檚 losing gubernatorial bid in 2014 would embrace a repeat candidacy is an open question.
The political climate at the state and national level could change dramatically by 2022, said Nathan Gonzales, editor and publisher of the newsletter Inside Elections. It鈥檚 still unclear at this early stage which Republicans and Democrats might jump into the race to replace Hogan.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to guess that Anthony Brown will not be the only Democrat looking at running for governor,鈥� Gonzales said.
Other Democratic possibilities in 2022 include Prince George鈥檚 County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks, state Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot, Baltimore County Executive John A. 鈥淛ohnny O鈥� Olszewski Jr., and Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez 鈥� and that list could grow.
The national political scene could vary dramatically, depending on whether it鈥檚 President Trump鈥檚 second term or there鈥檚 a new Democratic president in office.
Disappointed with Hogan
Brown hasn鈥檛 been thrilled with how Hogan has worked with him and the other Marylanders representing the state on Capitol Hill.
鈥淢y biggest disappointment with the governor is that he does not consult his congressional delegation,鈥� Brown said. The fact that 鈥渟even out of your eight members of the congressional delegation are Democrats should not be reason not to interact.鈥�
Specifically, Brown pointed to Hogan鈥檚 proposal to transfer ownership of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway from the National Park Service to the state.
鈥淲ell, Governor, you know, you have to get congressional approval for that. He didn鈥檛 know that,鈥� Brown said.
The congressman also pointed to Hogan鈥檚 discussions with the Interior Department about transferring federal land in Oxon Cove Park in Prince George鈥檚 County to allow the construction of a Washington Redskins stadium.
Again, Hogan didn鈥檛 鈥渃onsult his congressional delegation,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淵ou need congressional approval for that, too. So on a number of issues, I think he just disappointed.鈥�
Hogan informed the Redskins earlier this year that he was withdrawing from efforts to persuade the team to build its next stadium in Oxon Cove, the Washington Post reported in February.
Hogan鈥檚 spokesman, Michael Ricci, disputed Brown鈥檚 claims that the governor hasn鈥檛 been working with Maryland鈥檚 representatives on Capitol Hill.
鈥淕overnor Hogan works closely with our congressional delegation on several issues, including funding for the Chesapeake Bay and transit projects such as the Purple Line to Prince George鈥檚 County,鈥� Ricci said.
鈥淔or his part, Congressman Brown didn鈥檛 attend our last meeting about fixing the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, and hasn鈥檛 proposed any kind of plan to address the region鈥檚 traffic problems. The congressman has gone Washington 鈥� falling back on partisan complaints instead of focusing on getting things done.鈥�
鈥業 now know where most of the bathrooms are鈥�
For now, Brown said, his goal is to 鈥渟uccessfully complete this term of Congress and win re-election in 2020.鈥�
He鈥檚 a sophomore in Congress now, having spent his first term in a House controlled by the GOP.
鈥淚 now know where most of the bathrooms are, the exits and the committee chairs,鈥� he joked. 鈥淚t鈥檚 certainly more enjoyable and just a little less frustrating being in the majority.鈥�
The Iraq War veteran cites his work on the Armed Services Committee as a key focus; he also serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure, Natural Resources and Ethics committees.
Brown rarely votes against his party on the House floor. So far this year, he鈥檚 broken with Democrats just twice (0.5% of the time), according to an analysis by ProPublica.
He welcomed House Democrats鈥� efforts to push sweeping, symbolic bills on issues like health care, voting rights and gun regulations.
鈥淚t鈥檚 sad that a lot of that will sit idle in the Senate and probably never see the light of day, but we鈥檙e doing our job,鈥� he said. And Brown sees them as more than messaging bills: 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 laying the foundation for the debate in 2020.鈥�
Impeachment stance
Unlike some of his colleagues, Brown hasn鈥檛 been at the center of the impeachment battle playing out on Capitol Hill.
Of Maryland鈥檚 eight House members, Judiciary Committee member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D) is the only one who has publicly called for the launch of an impeachment inquiry.
Brown indicated that he sees an impeachment inquiry as likely, although he hasn鈥檛 yet joined the dozens of House Democrats (and one Republican) already pushing for impeachment proceedings.
鈥淚 support whatever report comes out of the Judiciary Committee,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e spending a lot of time on this and thank God for my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee.鈥�
The committee could determine, 鈥淗ey look, we鈥檝e got nothing here,鈥� or, 鈥淗ey, we鈥檙e actually ready to actually do a resolution of impeachment now.鈥� But Brown doubts they鈥檒l come to either of those conclusions. So launching impeachment proceedings 鈥渋s probably where we鈥檙e going to end up, who knows when?鈥�
While some Democrats and voters are wary about impeachment discussions overshadowing policy work, Brown thinks it鈥檚 primarily a distraction for the media, not for members of Congress.
Still, he noted, there is a limited bandwidth of how much Congress can handle, and impeachment proceedings would tie up more of that bandwidth.
Brown, who served in the House of Delegates for eight years, thinks Capitol Hill lawmakers could learn a few things from Maryland.
鈥淲e get more done in Annapolis 鈥� in the state capital 鈥� in 90 days than Congress gets done in a two-year term, we really do.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a sense of urgency there, there鈥檚 a constitutional requirement to balance the budget every year. And it鈥檚 not as partisan of an environment.鈥�
