FREDERICK, Md. – Democrat April McClain Delaney and conservative Republican Neil Parrott remain in a close contest Wednesday in Maryland’s most competitive U.S. House race.

The outcome of the race will determine whether Maryland’s 6th Congressional District continues being represented by Democrats or flips over to Republicans.

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With 84% of votes counted just before noon Wednesday, Delaney slightly led Parrott by a count of 160,138 to 159,823, according to the Associated Press.

Maryland’s 6th District covers a wide swath of rural western Maryland as well as the more affluent liberal suburbs of Washington, D.C.

Delaney has campaigned heavily on issues impacting women, including abortion. She also pledged to protect reproductive freedoms in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to end the constitutional right to an abortion and leave such questions to individual states.

Parrott deflected questions about reproductive rights during the campaign. He also prioritized his commitment to lowering inflation, creating a stronger economy for middle-class families and stopping illegal immigration.

During the campaign, both candidates sought to paint one another as extreme and out of touch. 
Parrott claims Delaney is disconnected from the struggles of everyday Americans, as evidenced by her choice to live several miles outside the 6th District in an affluent suburb of Washington, D.C.

Delaney used the same argument against Parrott who is a longtime resident of Hagerstown, a small city in western Maryland surrounded by farmland.

Tensions between the candidates erupted into a heated exchange during a public forum last month, demonstrating how even down-ballot races are becoming contentious and personal in the current political climate.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.