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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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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 4 hours later) | |
| Last in a series of profiles of the candidates seeking the Democratic nomination to represent Maryland’s 4th Congressional District. | Last in a series of profiles of the candidates seeking the Democratic nomination to represent 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 about $8,000 in campaign funds — more than 90 percent of it his own money. | He is virtually unknown, fairly new to Prince George’s County and has 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 said he quit his job as a statistician at the U.S. Census Bureau in Suitland 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 Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders. | Strait said he quit his job as a statistician at the U.S. Census Bureau in Suitland 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 Democratic presidential hopeful 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] | [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 a 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 a 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 supporters 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 everyday challenges of ordinary people. | |
| Strait talks to voters about the importance of planning for the future instead of reacting to the latest crisis. Congress, he says, has been too slow and shortsighted to respond adequately to issues such as ballooning student-loan debt and displacement of workers by the automation of jobs. | Strait talks to voters about the importance of planning for the future instead of reacting to the latest crisis. Congress, he says, has been too slow and shortsighted to respond adequately to issues such as ballooning student-loan debt and displacement of workers by the automation of jobs. |
| “We as a country have a history of big dreams,” Strait said in his opening remarks at a recent candidates 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 candidates 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.” |