Barnes drops Congressional bid

(1/10) Burgess Heath Barnes has dropped his bid to represent Maryland’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives six months after announcing his desire to seek the seat.

Barnes’ decision did not surprise many who knew him. "Heath is a rather pragmatic individual," said one town resident. "I’ve been quite impressed about how he has approached his role as Mayor. He tries to get things done, and on the occasional times he is unable to do so, he freely admits it, and will not waste your time. So, if he saw no way to win the election, I would have fully expected for him to drop out and help someone good who could win."

Which is exactly what Barnes hopes to do.

Barnes said he is endorsing former State Delegate Brenda Thiam of Hagerstown for the seat currently held by Rep. David Trone, whose decision to seek the Senate seat of retiring Senator Ben Cardin has set off a scramble to fill his congressional seat.

With Barnes out of the race, six Republicans, including Thiam and ten Democrats remain in the race. Trone, a two term Congressman, who won his last election handily, has yet to endorse a candidate to replace him. The 2024 primary election will take place on May 14.

Barnes said while he will actively help Thiam win over Republicans in Northern Frederick County, his number one priority will be serving the Town of Woodsboro by completing the construction of the new Town Hall within budget and on-time.

But while Barnes has opted to shift gears, he has not given up on one day becoming a more active player in State government, including running for an open seat in the Maryland General Assembly in 2025, a decision that will coincide with the need for Barnes to decide if he will run for a second term as Burgess.

Barnes said that "the decision to drop out of the campaign was one of the hardest [he’s] had to make, but that a pathway to victory does not seem possible after looking at [his] numbers."

"From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank each person that believed in the campaign and supported it financially, allowed me to place a sign in their yards, and offered words of encouragement," Barnes wrote in a press release.

Besides being Burgess of Woodsboro, Heath is also an active member of the Woodsboro Evangelical Lutheran Church, the American Legion, the Woodsboro Volunteer Fire Department, the Glade Valley Lions Club, and the Frederick County Farm Bureau. "Community and family are very important, and I try to give back as often as I can through these organizations," Barnes said.

Prior to announcing his candidacy back in July of last year, Barnes resigned as the 2nd Vice Chair of the Maryland GOP. "Ethics are important to me," he said at the time, "so I resigned to ensure there would be no conflict of interest where I would have behind-the-scenes information about my fellow candidates."

When not serving the community, Barnes serves as the Human Resources Manager for a private company. "The experience of helping and working with people of all backgrounds benefits me in how I approach my role as the Burgess of Woodsboro," he said.