Former State Department official joins Maryland congressional race
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Version 0 of 1. A former official at the State and Energy departments has entered the jam-packed field of Democrats in the primary for Maryland’s 8th Congressional District. Joel Rubin is the seventh candidate to enter the race for the seat being vacated Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who is running for the U.S. Senate. Rubin, 44, a Chevy Chase resident, has never held elected office. But he is touting his Washington experience as a potentially valuable asset for voters in the 8th, which runs from Takoma Park through Montgomery, Carroll and Frederick counties to the Pennsylvania line. [Raskin, Matthews take heat in first campaign debate] The Pittsburgh native is a former political and governmental affairs director for J Street, the liberal Jewish lobbying group that favors a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Rubin has also worked as an aide to Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) His most recent job, which he left in July, was deputy assistant secretary of state for House affairs, the department’s liaison to the chamber. His duties included working to develop support for the Obama administration’s nuclear deal with Iran. He supports the pact, as do six of his seven opponents. Rubin said in an interview Wednesday that his years on and around Capitol Hill make him uniquely qualified for the seat. “I deeply believe that Congress has a crucial impact on our lives,” Rubin said. “I’m very concerned about ensuring that we have the kind of Congress working for the American people that we need.” Rubin is the latest addition to a primary field that includes nonprofit official and academic David Anderson, delegates Kumar Barve and Ana Sol Gutierrez, former Obama administration official Will Jawando, former news anchor and Marriott executive Kathleen Matthews and State Sen. Jamie Raskin. Former Democrat Liz Matory is running as an independent. |