Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, a Democrat, has endorsed state Sen. Rob Garagiola, D-Montgomery County, for the state’s newly drawn sixth congressional district, Garagiola’s campaign announced Thursday.
Among the reasons for the endorsement, O’Malley listed Garagiola’s support for same-sex marriage and renewable energy.
Garagiola’s main competitor for the Democratic nomination is John Delaney, a Potomac financier, whose fundraising efforts have eclipsed Garagiola’s in recent weeks.
The sixth district seat is currently held by 10-term Republican incumbent Rep. Roscoe Bartlett. But the previously Republican district centered in Western Maryland was redrawn to incorporate parts of the largely Democratic Montgomery County, widely believed to be an effort by O’Malley to help Garagiola win a seat in Congress and pick off a Republican seat.
