News

Edgewater, MD – Harry Jarin, a small business owner and volunteer firefighter, announced today that he is running for the US House of Representatives in Maryland’s 5th Congressional District. The district is currently represented by Steny Hoyer, one of the oldest members of Congress, who will be nearly 90 years old in the next term. 

“Steny Hoyer has presided over a rapid decline in Congress as a functioning institution. Families in Southern Maryland are facing multiple crises, including unprecedented cuts to Federal jobs and services, a housing shortage, and out-of-control healthcare costs,” said Harry Jarin. “While I respect his many decades of service, Steny represents a bygone era of politics that isn’t working for us anymore. I’m ready to take up the fight.”

Jarin has served as a volunteer firefighter for over ten years. Through his work as a grant writer, he has helped hundreds of fire and EMS departments across the country secure funding for vital equipment and additional staffing. 

“I understand the difference between public service and self-service. Democrats need politicians who understand the daily challenges of everyday Americans. Our community needs a Representative who’s going to show up and be accountable to our district, and not treat this job as a personal retirement plan.” added Jarin.

Jarin is pledging to hold regular in-person town halls with constituents, something Hoyer has not done for many years. He will also immediately move the constituent office in Greenbelt - which was left outside the district after a 2022 redistricting - within the actual borders of the district. 

Jarin is centering his campaign around the urgent need for new energy in the Democratic Party, restoring Congress as an institution, and producing real solutions to the crises facing working families of Southern Maryland. 

“I’ve seen from the inside how the Democratic Party has totally lost touch with working people. We didn’t present a vision of the future or politicians that people could relate to, and that’s what opened the door for Trump and extremist Republicans to take power. Politicians in their late 80s like Steny Hoyer simply don’t know how to communicate in the era of social media,” said Jarin. “Democrats have to recognize how badly we’ve failed and change course if we want to win. Step one is to stop treating congressional seats like lifetime appointments.”

Jarin’s legislative priorities focus on an “abundance agenda,” including ensuring every American is able to see a primary care physician; securing funding for the Southern Maryland Rapid Transit (SMRT) project to reduce traffic in Charles County; lowering the cost of housing, energy, and infrastructure development through Federal planning reforms; and preserving Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid to ensure these vital programs stay solvent for future generations. 

“When a house is on fire, you don’t send in the same people who let it spread. You send in a firefighter. We can’t fix Congress by sending back the exact same people who let it fall apart in the first place,” said Jarin.