Steny Hoyer

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Rep. Steny Hoyer took office in the first few months of the Ronald Reagan administration, and over the course of 45 years he gained significant power and influence that could be felt throughout Maryland’s 5th District. Now that he’s retiring, residents of that district need to be prepared.

Over the years, Hoyer became a powerful figure on Capitol Hill, rising up to House majority leader at one point, and with that power and influence came benefits for his district.

“Especially for Southern Maryland, he brought major gains, specifically Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Indian Head,” said St. Mary’s College political science professor Todd Eberly. “And it wasn’t only refocusing resources on those bases. It was the infrastructure funding that he was also able to get in order to handle the increased transportation, traffic and the such related to them.”

Hoyer, who grew up inside the Beltway in Suitland, now calls St. Mary’s County his home. That part of the district, along with Calvert and the southern end of Charles County, skews more conservative, but Eberly said Hoyer still delivered to those parts of the district.

The two candidates hoping to replace him are Republican Chris Chaffee, of Calvert County, and Democratic state Del. Adrian Boafo, of Bowie. Boafo benefited from Hoyer’s endorsement early in the race, which was then followed by the backing of Gov. Wes Moore, Sen. Angela Alsobrooks and others in Maryland. Eberly said Boafo has already won his hardest battle in this race.

“Let’s just be honest. It’s an overwhelmingly Democratic district,” Eberly said. “It’s hard to imagine a scenario, any scenario where the Democrat wouldn’t win that race.”

Eberly said the only time Hoyer didn’t win his reelection campaigns by double digits was 1992, when he ran against former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan. Since then, the district has trended more toward Democrats.

“Chaffee, the Republican nominee who has been nominated for that office and for offices before, has never really been able to make a dent in the Democratic nature of that district,” Eberly said. “I don’t see anything that changes that just because Hoyer’s not on the ballot.”

Regardless of who wins, Eberly said the district will have to get used to being a lower priority on the Hill when it comes to funding and other resources.

“He’s now going to be replaced by someone who’s going to start at, you know, the bottom of the seniority ladder,” Eberly said. “Seniority determines so much in the House of Representatives. It’ll take a while to see someone of Hoyer’s stature again. And I think the folks in the district probably do need to be prepared for the fact that they’ve lost someone who had an automatic seat at the table and a pretty powerful voice.”

Eberly said while Hoyer was a loyal and partisan Democrat, he still worked across party lines to establish relationships and trust with Republican counterparts.

“Folks knew they could trust him, and knowing that you can trust someone becomes critical,” Eberly said.

Margins in the U.S. House are often tight, so, “You’ve got to be able to build relationships outside of your own party, and I think that his successor needs to understand that, that even though we’re so polarized and the parties seem to be so far apart, you’ve got to be seen as a reliable and trustworthy partner by everyone.”

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