Del.Adrian Boafo, D-Md., emerged from a crowded Democratic primary Tuesday to clinch the nomination for former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s deep-blue Maryland seat, aided by millions in outside spending from cryptocurrency and pro-Israel groups. Boafo, 32, defeated a crowded field of roughly two dozen challengers vying to represent the heavily Democratic district Tuesday, including former U.S.
Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, according to The Associated Press.Dunn, who defended the U.S.Capitol during the Jan.
6 riots in 2021, put opposition to President Donald Trump at the center of his campaign, including criticizing the pardoning of Jan.6 riot defendants and the president’s defunct $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund.
Dunn resigned from the Capitol Police force in 2023.Del.Adrian Boafo, Democratic candidate for Maryland's 5th Congressional District, speaks during a press conference at Kenhill Center in Bowie, Md., on March 2, 2026.
Rep.Steny Hoyer, D-Md., who is retiring from the seat, also attended.
(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc.)Boafo’s primary victory comes after the crypto-aligned super PAC Protect Progress and the United Democracy Project — an outside spending group linked to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) — spent more than $10 million to support his candidacy, according to The Washington Post.FROM WASSERMAN SCHULTZ TO GOLDMAN, DEMOCRATIC INCUMBENTS ARE FIGHTING FOR SURVIVALHe also had the backing of Maryland’s Democratic establishment, including endorsements from Hoyer, Gov.Wes Moore, D-Md., Sen.
Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., and the state’s largest teachers union. Boafo previously worked as a campaign aide to Hoyer and a federal lobbyist for the software and technology company Oracle before being elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2022. Hoyer, 86, who has represented the southern Maryland seat for 45 years, announced his retirement in January, setting off a scramble among roughly 24 Democrati...