Mckayla Wilkes, a 28-year-old administrative assistant, part-time student, and mother of two, has had enough. In late March, she announced that she was mounting a bid for Maryland’s 5th Congressional District, aiming to unseat one of the oldest and most powerful Democratic members, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. Wilkes is running
on a host of progressive policies, but plans to put particular focus on Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and affordable housing.
A student of political science, Wilkes hasn’t formerly been involved in politics before, but thinks the moment is too urgent to wait. She wants more “relatable people” in Congress and is fed up with Hoyer’s record, which she says does not adequately represent the needs of those living in his district. “We need someone who will be a voice for us, who knows what we go through as daily constituents, and Steny Hoyer has been in office so long he’s never really had to be a regular constituent,” she said. Hoyer, who is 79 years old, was first elected to Congress in 1981.
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Wilkes’s platform, and specifically her plank on criminal justice, is in part shaped by her own experiences. She decided early to come out and
share that she has a criminal record, an unconventional move that she hopes will help her earn voters’ trust. Her aunt, Sharon Carver, was a civilian employee killed at the Pentagon on 9/11, and after her death, Wilkes started acting out. “I skipped class and I ran away from home,” she tweeted. “I was in and out of the juvie from the ages of 14-17.”
Wilkes
said this experience exposed her early to the abuses of the criminal justice system, and later on as a teen, she was arrested for having marijuana, though never charged for possession. She said she’s also had her license suspended for not paying traffic tickets on time, something she didn’t do because she was “in an extremely rough spot financially.” Wilkes was then charged with driving on a suspended license, but said if she didn’t drive to work, she would have lost her job.
https://theintercept.com/2019/04/19/steny-hoyer-primary-challenger/