Maryland Primary Candidate Comparison ’24 : U.S. House District 7
OVERVIEW
Once again[1] democrat Maryland legislator Kweisi Mfume is running against civilian program manager for a multi-million dollar department of defense program for the navy and former police officer Tashi Davis[2].
THE GOOD
Davis seems thoughtful, empathetic, honest and genuine
Mfume was a bold liberal in the ’80s and ’90s, and still sometimes takes a minority stand against silly legislation (such as voted against last year’s Resolution 9 which denounces “the horrors of socialism” and calls for opposing the implementation of socialist policies in the United States[3]
THE BAD
Davis’ solution to gun violence: hire more police officers and spend more on training and equipment[4]
although Mfume lists being head of the NAACP as a highlight in his resume and experience, he left in disgrace due to sexual harassment allegations and mismanagement[5] and aside from paying $100,000 to his accuser these incidents remains largely unresolved and insufficiently addressed[6]
THE SAME
some jingoistic blather about police and military - but the typical kind, nothing out of the ordinary; both mix this with rhetoric about wanting to cut defense spending and emphasize diplomacy over force - mainline diet imperialism stuff that doesn’t stick out as unusual
both are pro choice and both are for stricter gun control
both advocates for raising minimum wage[7]
both in favor of universal pre-k and overall higher spending for public school[8]
THE DIFFERENT
Mfume has been endorsed by several organizations including AFRO news[9] — and I’m unable to find any notable endorsements for Davis
The biggest difference is on border/immigration rhetoric —Mfume has mainline democrat stances such as support for DACA and a pathway to citizenship[10] with nothing particularly radical in any direction, and Davis’ communications on the subject are sloppier and less thought out[11]
Several of my harshest criticisms of Mfume in previous elections[12] were due to his avoiding debates, questionnaires and the sharing of meaningful content about his visions, policies and choices - but he explains himself a bit more clearly this time around; most of Davis’ answers still range from bland to slightly embarrassing, though most differences in messaging could be explained by Mfume being able to afford more polished and professional campaign branding, which this year he felt like putting slightly more effort into doing than in previous elections
Mfume’s fundraising is nearly all from rich people and lobby groups, mostly public sector unions with a little pro-Israel sprinkled in[13] while Davis has raised (or at least reported) nothing at all[14]
OTHER
Mfume was the first Maryland legislator to call for a ceasefire, though he refrained from cosponsoring the Ceasefire Now Resolution[15]
CONCLUSION
I am voting for neither
References and Further Reading:
[1] The article I wrote the last time they ran for the same seat:
https://medium.com/@allsortsofthings/us-house-maryland-district-7-meh-3314573b4bbc[2] ballotpedia.org/Tashi_Davis
[3] https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-concurrent-resolution/9
[4] https://www.theduckpin.com/p/candidate-survey-tashi-kimandus-davis
[5] https://newsone.com/3899616/kweisi-mfume-responds-naacp-sexual-harassment-reports-resurfacing/
[7] https://mfume.house.gov/media/press-releases/our-workers-deserve-raise
[8] https://www.tashidavisforcongress.org/priorities
https://afro.com/we-need-to-make-education-a-priority-so-we-can-lift-ourselves-up/[10] https://www.ontheissues.org/International/Kweisi_Mfume_Immigration.htm
[11] On the question “What changes would you propose in immigration policy” Davis answers “Unfortunately, this is a much tougher fix than many are willing to admit! Truth is, we are Nation founded on immigration & owe much of this Country’s growth to immigrants. That said, we are in crisis right now. And we simply can’t (infrastructurally) support the huge influx pouring through our boarders. So our solution MUST begin with closing them. For those who are here and honestly working and contributing to our economy, we have to harness their abilities as well.” — i’m not sure how to read the implications of this answer, or if Davis even does
https://onyourballot.vote411.org/candidate-detail.do?id=6741965[12] https://www.patreon.com/posts/congressional-7-42454692
[13] https://www.opensecrets.org/races/candidates?cycle=2024&id=MD07&spec=N
[14] https://projects.propublica.org/itemizer/races/2024/states/md/house/7
[15] https://twitter.com/RepKweisiMfume/status/1722370744397492557
