John Delaney

**John Kevin "JK" Delaney** (born April 16, 1963) is an American politician and businessman. He was the United States Representative for Maryland's 6th congressional district from 2013 to 2019.

On July 28, 2017, Delaney became the first Democrat to announce he is running for President in 2020. He ended his campaign in January 2020, days before the Iowa caucus.

## Early life

Delaney was born in Wood-Ridge, New Jersey. His parents were Elaine Rowe and Jack Delaney, an electrician. He was raised in Wood-Ridge. He studied at Columbia University and Georgetown University Law Center.

## Business career

Delaney has co-founded two companies, both of which are publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. He has won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2004.

In 1993, he co-founded Health Care Financial Partners, to make loans available to smaller-sized health care service providers purportedly ignored by larger banks. In 2000, Delaney co-founded CapitalSource, a commercial lender headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland; the company provided capital to roughly 5,000 small and mid-size businesses before his departure.

Delaney retired from his business career in 2012, to pursue a career in politics.

## United States Representative (2013–2019)

Delaney decided to run for the newly redrawn 6th District against 10-term Republican incumbent Roscoe Bartlett. The district had long been a Republican stronghold.

During the primary, Delaney was endorsed by former President Bill Clinton, U.S. Congresswoman Donna Edwards, Comptroller Peter Franchot, the _Washington Post_, and the _Gazette_. On April 3, 2012, Delaney won the five-candidate Democratic primary field with 54% of the vote. The next closest opponent, State Senator Robert J. Garagiola, received 29% of the vote, 25 points behind Delaney.

In the November 6, 2012 general election, Delaney defeated Bartlett by 59%-38%, a 21-point margin.

Delaney introduced legislation to end partisan gerrymandering. The Open Our Democracy Act would appoint independent redistricting commissions nationwide to end partisan gerrymandering, make Election Day a federal holiday and create an open top-two primary system.

## 2020 presidential campaign

Delaney announced he is running for President of the United States in the 2020 presidential election in a Washington Post op-ed on July 28, 2017.

Delaney ended his campaign on January 31, 2020 after falling in poll numbers and failing to qualify for the debates.

## Personal life

Delaney married April McClain in 1989. Together they have four daughters. In 2024, McClain was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

## Other websites

- Congressman John Delaney  official U.S. House website
- Campaign website

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **name**: John Delaney
- **image**: John Delaney 113th Congress official photo.jpgborder
- **state**: Maryland
- **term start**: January 3, 2013
- **term end**: January 3, 2019
- **predecessor**: Roscoe Bartlett
- **successor**: David Trone
- **birth name**: John Kevin Delaney
- **birth place**: Wood-Ridge, New Jersey, Wood-Ridge, New Jersey, United States, U.S.
- **party**: Democratic Party (United States), Democratic
- **children**: 4
- **alma mater**: Columbia University
Georgetown University