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| Terence Strait: ‘Bernie-crat’ faces long odds in Maryland congressional race | Terence Strait: ‘Bernie-crat’ faces long odds in Maryland congressional race |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Last in a series of profiles of the Democratic candidates to replace Rep. Donna F. Edwards representing Maryland’s 4th Congressional District. | Last in a series of profiles of the Democratic candidates to replace Rep. Donna F. Edwards representing Maryland’s 4th Congressional District. |
| Terence Strait understands that he probably won’t win the race to replace U.S. Rep. Donna F. Edwards (D) in Maryland’s 4th Congressional District. | Terence Strait understands that he probably won’t win the race to replace U.S. Rep. Donna F. Edwards (D) in Maryland’s 4th Congressional District. |
| He is virtually unknown, fairly new to Prince George’s County and has just about $8,000 in campaign funds — more than 90 percent of it his own money. | |
| But that won’t stop the 34-year-old from trying. | But that won’t stop the 34-year-old from trying. |
| “I think I would do a great job,” Strait said in a recent interview. “This campaign isn’t about me, it’s about the ideas. My primary goal is to shift the conversation.” | “I think I would do a great job,” Strait said in a recent interview. “This campaign isn’t about me, it’s about the ideas. My primary goal is to shift the conversation.” |
| Strait quit his job as a statistician at the U.S. Census Bureau in Suitland earlier this year to take “a big leap of faith” and run for federal office. The self-described “Bernie-crat” favors a democratic socialist ideology similar to that advocated by presidential hopeful and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. | Strait quit his job as a statistician at the U.S. Census Bureau in Suitland earlier this year to take “a big leap of faith” and run for federal office. The self-described “Bernie-crat” favors a democratic socialist ideology similar to that advocated by presidential hopeful and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. |
| Strait has spent much of his campaign retweeting hundreds of pro-Sanders messages and meeting one-on-one with district residents to talk about climate change, economic inequality and burdensome student debt. | Strait has spent much of his campaign retweeting hundreds of pro-Sanders messages and meeting one-on-one with district residents to talk about climate change, economic inequality and burdensome student debt. |
| He has reached out to other Sanders supporters, posted YouTube interviews and added his profile to websites promoting progressive politicians. | He has reached out to other Sanders supporters, posted YouTube interviews and added his profile to websites promoting progressive politicians. |
| [Five things to know about Terence Strait] | |
| “Politicians think in a very set way,” he said. “In terms of the thought processes, Democrats and Republican talk about issues in the same way but argue different points.I bring a very different type of way of thinking that should be represented.” | “Politicians think in a very set way,” he said. “In terms of the thought processes, Democrats and Republican talk about issues in the same way but argue different points.I bring a very different type of way of thinking that should be represented.” |
| Strait’s interest in politics started in elementary school in Indiana during a mock election mirroring the 1992 race between Bill Clinton and President George H.W. Bush. After high school, Strait enlisted in the Army and served for four years, he said. | Strait’s interest in politics started in elementary school in Indiana during a mock election mirroring the 1992 race between Bill Clinton and President George H.W. Bush. After high school, Strait enlisted in the Army and served for four years, he said. |
| He returned to civilian life and enrolled in college just as the economy collapsed. Strait said he attended a few different institutions before settling at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in psychology. | He returned to civilian life and enrolled in college just as the economy collapsed. Strait said he attended a few different institutions before settling at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in psychology. |
| Strait moved to Prince George’s County and bought a home in Capitol Heights, where he recently hosted other Sanders fans for a live-streaming campaign event. On his website, Strait is candid about his struggle with depression, which he said has given him an understanding of the challenges faced by working people. | Strait moved to Prince George’s County and bought a home in Capitol Heights, where he recently hosted other Sanders fans for a live-streaming campaign event. On his website, Strait is candid about his struggle with depression, which he said has given him an understanding of the challenges faced by working people. |
| Strait talks to voters about the importance of planning for the future instead of reactingto the latest crisis. Congress, he says, has been too slow and short-sighted to respond adequately to issues like ballooning student-loan debt and displacement of workers due to the automation of jobs. | |
| “We as a country have a history of big dreams,” Strait said in his opening remarks at a recent forum. “We went in 66 years from the Wright brothers’ first flight to putting a man on the moon. . . . There is nothing we as a people, if we put our minds to it, can’t do.” | “We as a country have a history of big dreams,” Strait said in his opening remarks at a recent forum. “We went in 66 years from the Wright brothers’ first flight to putting a man on the moon. . . . There is nothing we as a people, if we put our minds to it, can’t do.” |
| Strait, who calls himself an idealist, said he is optimistic that despite his relatively low profile, one of the other candidates will note his passion. | Strait, who calls himself an idealist, said he is optimistic that despite his relatively low profile, one of the other candidates will note his passion. |
| “My odds of winning are not that great,” Strait said. “And I believe, if I don’t win, one of these candidates will be interested in bringing me in as a staffer.” | “My odds of winning are not that great,” Strait said. “And I believe, if I don’t win, one of these candidates will be interested in bringing me in as a staffer.” |