Tekesha Martinez
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Tekesha Martinez (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Maryland's 6th Congressional District. She lost in the Democratic primary on May 14, 2024.
Martinez completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Tekesha Martinez was born in Hagerstown, Maryland. Her career experience includes working as a public servant.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Maryland's 6th Congressional District election, 2024
Maryland's 6th Congressional District election, 2024 (May 14 Democratic primary)
Maryland's 6th Congressional District election, 2024 (May 14 Republican primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House Maryland District 6
April McClain-Delaney defeated Neil Parrott in the general election for U.S. House Maryland District 6 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | April McClain-Delaney (D) | 52.1 | 182,891 |
 | Neil Parrott (R) | 47.9 | 168,220 | |
| Total votes: 351,111 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Jason Johnson (Independent)
- Moshe Landman (G)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 6
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 6 on May 14, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | April McClain-Delaney | 40.4 | 22,985 |
 | Joe Vogel | 26.2 | 14,940 | |
 | Ashwani Jain | 8.3 | 4,750 | |
 | Tekesha Martinez | 7.0 | 3,992 | |
 | Lesley Lopez | 4.6 | 2,600 | |
 | Laurie-Anne Sayles | 3.2 | 1,845 | |
 | Destiny West | 1.9 | 1,086 | |
 | Mohammad Mozumder | 1.8 | 1,005 | |
 | Joel Rubin | 1.4 | 820 | |
 | Peter Choharis | 1.4 | 818 | |
 | Geoffrey Grammer | 1.1 | 651 | |
 | George Gluck | 0.8 | 437 | |
 | Kiambo White | 0.7 | 401 | |
 | Stephen McDow | 0.4 | 246 | |
 | Altimont Wilks | 0.3 | 179 | |
 | Adrian Petrus | 0.3 | 166 | |
| Total votes: 56,921 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Mia Mason (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 6
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 6 on May 14, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Neil Parrott | 45.9 | 22,604 |
 | Dan Cox | 30.1 | 14,797 | |
 | Mariela Roca | 12.3 | 6,071 | |
 | Tom Royals | 4.2 | 2,060 | |
 | Chris Hyser | 3.3 | 1,625 | |
 | Brenda Thiam | 3.3 | 1,607 | |
 | Todd Puglisi | 0.9 | 446 | |
| Total votes: 49,210 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Heath Barnes (R)
Endorsements
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Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Martinez in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Tekesha Martinez completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Martinez's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I am the first Black Mayor of my hometown of Hagerstown, MD. An American success story against all odds. Growing up as a foster child, I persevered through teen pregnancy and eventually had four daughters and a son who have, so far, given me seven grandbabies as well.
Seeking outlets after a traumatic episode in my life, I rediscovered my childhood love of poetry in my thirties. Immediately, I began performing and hosting at spoken word events, continuing to do so as an elected official. I've also worked as a trained community mediator, spending over a decade facilitating conversation through conflict and serving my hometown in a way that tangibly brings neighbors together instead of driving them apart.
In 2024, I intend to bring her fresh perspective, deep love of community, and broad experience to Congress, running for the open seat in MD’s 6th Congressional District.
- I am running on A Women's Agenda, a comprehensive platform on women's rights and empowerment that recognizes how deeply important these issues are to the health and growth of our communities. Faced not only with continuing challenges to women’s rights, but also with the interlacing stresses of climate change, racial injustice, and public safety, we must reassert our commitment to a future where equality is a lived reality. Now is the time to capitalize on this momentum and amplify our voices. When the needs of our mothers, daughters, grandmothers, sisters, nieces, and aunties are met, society as a whole will benefit.
- As a sitting Mayor in one of the fastest growing regions in the state, I have a unique perspective on getting things done. I grew up in foster care in my hometown, but I am now overseeing an unprecedented $1.8b in growth and investment in and around Hagerstown. Western Maryland could flourish with a representative who understands the unique relationships of municipal officials and county governments. No elected official is more accessible and held more accountable than a mayor. We are the face of our city. We also live here every day, are always seen in the communities, and are the first to be called when its 4am and there is an incident, emergency, or complaint. Having that experience, I know how to make Congress more accessible to all.
- Nothing is more important than feeling safe. Everyone must feel heard and understood in what safety means to them and what resources they need in order to reach that point. Healthcare access is a public safety issue, that's why I support establishing a universal healthcare system like Medicare for All that guarantees access to quality, affordable care. Collaboration with police and accountability is a public safety issue, which is why I support expanding the usage of trained community mediators, social workers, and mental health professionals so that overstressed law enforcement officers no longer have to wear all of these hats at once. If someone doesn't feel safe at home or work, they can't contribute to our communities.
Women's rights and empowerment, public safety, universal healthcare, and strengthening our unions.
The strong Black women of the civil rights movement who did so much work with so little recognition. It is on their backs that society has built itself today.
Fannie Lou Hamer, Shirley Chisholm, Rosa Parks, Barbara Jordan, Ella Baker, and many, many more.
Civil Rights hero Fannie Lou Hamer's biography Walk with Me, which I read at the beginning of the campaign trail.
Accountability, access, and transparency.
I am accessible and transparent as an average, everyday person. I carry my personal experiences that inform me but recognize the importance of those who I represent feeling heard and understood. I am not shut off in an insider political world. I am real and I represent real people.
First and foremost, make sure constituents across this diverse district feel heard and understood. If that baseline isn't reached, then there is no "representation" in our representative.
Trailblazing for future generations while showing that we can get things done regardless of our differences.
My first jobs were getting by to support my kids. I had 5 children by the age of 25 with very little support. I worked everything from hotel front desks to warehouse forklifts. I never missed an opportunity to build relationships with coworkers.
Lauryn Hill's cover of Can't Take My Eyes Off You
Growing up in foster care in my home county but still staying and building a life here.
Keeping our democracy together while ensuring that the time lost to polarization and gridlock doesn't mean time lost in addressing the existential threat of climate change.
They should be considered for all political offices, but not without a simultaneous elimination of dark money in politics in order to ensure that special interests can't easily cycle easily influenced "representatives" who are bought and paid for.
Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm
Visiting schools or activities with the youth, especially in my fairly red home county, and hearing little Black and brown girls and boys audibly react to seeing someone who looks like them in an elected position of power.
Yes, but the compromise must be made on the basis of representing constituents, not personal or special interests.
So far to name a couple: the National Organization for Women and Higher Heights for America.
Committee on Education and the Workforce or Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
I've always been transparent about how I've maneuvered into political spaces without any finances backing me at all. Seeing the effects of moneyed influence on how others operate is eye opening, and I am devoted to eliminating dark money in politics.
I have sacrificed a lot to get where I am without finances. It shouldn't take that sacrifice just to be a part of government and serving your community.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate U.S. House Maryland District 6 |
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Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on March 6, 2024
