WASHINGTON — Glenn Ivey enters his first term as a congressman after a landslide victory against Republican challenger Jeff Warner. Ivey will represent Maryland’s 4th District, a predominantly Black constituency, which contains parts of Prince George’s County and Anne Arundel County.
This was not Ivey’s first time running for the House. He ran in 2012 but dropped out before the primaries due to fundraising issues. He tried again in 2016 but lost in the Democratic primary.
Ivey said he wanted to make a difference in so many communities and now his perseverance has been rewarded.
“There are major challenges that are being addressed one way or another in Congress, and I certainly want to be part of trying to help address those problems and find positive ways to move the country forward,” Ivey said in an interview with Capital News Service on Friday.
He will succeed Rep. Anthony Brown, who was elected Maryland’s first Black attorney general on Tuesday.
Ivey got to know many of his constituents as the state’s attorney for Prince George’s County. He served in that position for two terms from 2003 to 2011.
“We had some successful prosecutions that I think led us to have good overall feedback from the community,” Ivey said.
In that role, he prioritized issues like reducing homicides and violent crime in general, domestic violence awareness and reading programs.
Ivey was also the chairman of the Maryland Public Service Commission, a regulatory agency that ensures safe, reliable, and economic public utility and transportation services.
He said he hopes to be assigned to the House Judiciary Committee due to his extensive legal experience, including serving as the Democratic counsel to the Senate Whitewater Committee and working with former Rep. John Conyers Jr., when the Michigan Democrat was a member of the Judiciary Committee.
“I think the background is really there for Judiciary Committee-related matters that deal with the courts,” Ivey said.
Going into his term, one of Ivey’s top priorities is protecting democracy and the right to vote. He said he is frustrated with politicians refusing to concede when they lose an election.
“I would call it the crybaby politics of election deniers,” Ivey said. “We want to get back to the days where if you lost, you help with the transition, so incoming officials can focus on the business of governing and getting the work done for the people.”
He is also passionate about enacting gun control legislation, especially to protect children in schools from mass shootings.
“I get that people want to protect their Second Amendment rights, but we’ve got to protect second graders as well,” Ivey said.
He said he also aims to work on the top issue for many voters in this election: the economy. He wants to help address inflation but not raise interest rates so much that it will harm Americans.
“We don’t want to put the country into a recession,” Ivey said.
It is still unclear which party will win control of the House with votes still coming in from key states like Arizona, Nevada and California. The final tally will determine whether Ivey and his Democratic colleagues can move their policy agenda forward.
“Hopefully, we’ll win the majority, and we’ll be able to continue building on all of the things that got done in the last few years,” Ivey said.