At least twice while recently campaigning in towns along the western stretch of Maryland’s 6th District, Del. Joe Vogel (D-Montgomery County) headed to Shabbat services.
Synagogues in Cumberland and Frederick were only too happy to accommodate Vogel when his campaign asked if the candidate could stop by on a Saturday morning. In fact, the Frederick congregation even asked if he could lift up a Torah scroll at services.
“It’s a slightly older congregation and they needed someone that could do the hagbah,” recalled Vogel, 27, referring to the delicate-yet-daunting act of lifting the Torah scroll by its poles and displaying it to the congregation. “I had not done that since my bar mitzvah. I was a little nervous to drop the Torah in front of, you know, a few dozen folks.”
For Vogel — who won his seat in the State House in 2022 at age 25, making him the youngest delegate ever elected — an accident could cost votes, too. But he pulled the feat off with aplomb, continuing his campaign without incident.
In the May 14 race for the 6th District seat being vacated by Rep. David Trone, Vogel finished second to April McClain Delaney. A former senior Commerce Department official and wife of John Delaney, Trone’s predecessor, April McClain Delaney will face Republican candidate Neil Parrott, a former member of the Maryland House of Delegates, in November.
In his concession speech, Vogel said, “I wished [Delaney] well and pledged that I will do everything in my power and nature that we hold this seat in November, elect a Democratic senator in November and re-elect President Joe Biden.”
Despite the loss, some political observers believe Vogel has a bright future in politics. Vogel’s biography — born in Uruguay, he identifies as Jewish, LGBTQ and Latino — makes him notable on the national scene beyond his age.
But his campaigning in the 6th District recently was strictly about local issues. When he knocked on doors, he said, people wanted to know about jobs, health and the environment.
“The mayor of [the Washington County town of] Boonsboro, for example, talked to us about the challenges they face in their water reservoir, and my commitment as a member of Congress to addressing those challenges,” Vogel said. “And we’re talking about what I’ve worked on in the legislature which was mental health, responding to the fentanyl overdose epidemic, creating jobs in new industries. All of those priorities resonate with folks all over this district.”
Vogel’s identity helps at times, too. “I think there are Jewish voters here in Gaithersburg who are really excited about the message of our campaign and what my leadership offers,” he said of one of the D.C. bedroom communities he represents in the state House.
Vogel attended the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville and was active in BBYO, the international nondenominational Jewish youth movement, which he said spurred his political ambitions.
“I think about my Jewish faith and I think about the values of tikkun olam [the Jewish precept of helping to repair the world],” he said. “But even beyond that, this idea that we have an obligation to stand up for ourselves, I think about right now more than ever, as we see a surge in antisemitism.”
Vogel casts himself as a progressive but with pro-Israel cred, citing New York Rep. Ritchie Torres and Florida Rep. Jared Moskowitz as role models. Both are outspoken progressives on domestic issues and also are unstinting defenders of Israel, an increasingly rare combination as the progressive wing of the Democratic Party has become highly critical of Israel.
Vogel said the need to defend Israel was made especially acute by the war Hamas launched when the terrorist group attacked Israel on Oct. 7.
“For me, my support for Israel, it’s not political, it’s not a policy issue, it’s personal,” he said. ”I have family there. My youngest cousin just enrolled in the IDF. The last few months have been extremely challenging. And I think that now more than ever, we need young voices that are willing to stand up for Israel and stand up for the Jewish community.”
On the most contentious Israel issue of the day — President Joe Biden’s withholding of bombs to Israel as it embarks on a military operation in Rafah, a city on the Gaza-Egypt border — Vogel acknowledged ambivalence.
“I have concerns, as especially as we see the rise in threats from Iran that we saw in the last several weeks, that we are jeopardizing Israel’s security by making decisions or making declarations,” he said. “But, you know, ultimately, I trust the president. I trust the president and I trust his national security team.”
Despite his congressional loss, a takeaway for Vogel — who grew up in a large and influential Jewish community in suburban D.C. — will be the joys of small-town Jewish life. He recalled his Shabbat in Cumberland last December and said he’s kept in touch, maintaining an attention to detail befitting a politician whose success will depend on local relationships.
“I understand that they’re hiring a new rabbi now, which is very exciting for the Cumberland community,” he said.
Vogel, who said he knocked on 3,000 doors last weekend alone, said he found “a large amount of support for us in parts of the district that folks thought we would never really be able to gain traction. And because we made a concerted effort, because we made an intentional effort to show up and gain support there.”
Ron Kampeas is the Washington bureau chief for the JTA global Jewish news source.
A committed philanthropist and community leader, Russel was president of R&H Motors.
The mother of four was a native of Winchester, Virginia, who spent most of her life in Northwest Baltimore.
The remaining 6,000 members of the community are expected to immigrate by 2030.
The Columbia resident worked on the Gemini and Apollo space missions.