Published August 14, 2026 at 1:01 PM EDT

Ethan Wechtaluk got his start in politics when his father, who worked for the Montgomery County government, brought him to county meetings. His father’s desire to stay in the know, Wechtaluk explained, inspired his own interest to get in politics. “Both my parents were very supportive as I grew up in my involvement and campaigns and volunteering,” Wechtaluk said.

He recounted stories of campaigns as he grew up, gathering the signs of the candidates he supported and plating them in his front yard. He never knew if his parents supported his particular votes, but said they always indulged his participation.

Wechtaluk, member of the Democrat Socialists of America, ran for Maryland’s District 6th seat in the Democratic primary this year. He came in fourth behind incumbent April McClain Delaney, former Congressman David Trone and Alexis Goldstein. He ran on immigration and affordability, wanting to reform ICE and lower costs for health care, housing and child care.

Nathanael Miller/WYPR News

Total votes per candidate in Maryland's district 6 Democrat primary election.

Money Talks

When it comes to how younger, newer candidates are supposed to get their start in politics, when facing career politicians, Wechtaluk said that is the $40 million question.

“In politics, there’s two things that help you break through; there’s money and there’s name recognition,” Wechtaluk said. “If you have money, you can buy name recognition. If you have name recognition, you can get money. If you don’t have either one of those things, it’s incredibly hard to break through.”

There’s not a “fair shot,” Wechtaluk said, for younger candidates, nor for people who are not already wealthy. The 6th District Democratic primary was the most expensive in U.S. history, with approximately $40 million spent by two candidates. Data from the Federal Election Commission shows the remaining 6 candidates raised less than $200,000 total.

Delaney raised $12.3 million, with support from pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC and a bank owned by her husband, former Congressman John Delaney. Trone raised $26.2 million, largely self-funded as the owner of Total Wine & More, the largest wine retailer in the U.S.

It is a different story for newer candidates trying to appeal to the average middle-class family, Wechtaluk said. Individual contributions smaller than $200 made up the majority of Wechtaluk’s campaign funding.

“I go to a bank and say, ‘Is this important to you, would your PAC support me,’ …and they might write me a check,” Wechtaluk said. “That’s a single issue, but when I go to an individual voter, more often than not they’re…not going to write me a check for a single issue.”

Nathanael Miller/WYPR News

Total campaign spending per candidate in Maryland's district 6 Democrat primary election.

Time For Change

Wechtaluk wants to, “level the playing field,” through public financing of elections. This involves limiting how much candidates can raise for their campaigns and restricting the size of donations to small dollar amounts. Within those limits, he wants the government to match the dollars raised by a candidate to allow people with less money to compete.

To that end, he wants the government to repeal Citizens United v. FEC. In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the government could not restrict the amount of money non-profits and other organizations can donate to a candidate as a matter of freedom of speech. The Brennan Center for Justice alleges the most significant outcome of the case has been, “the creation of super PACs, which empower the wealthiest donors, and the expansion of dark money through shadowy nonprofits that don’t disclose their donors.”

There are two questions for Wechtaluk, what a campaign can raise and spend, and what a super pack can spend on behalf of its chosen candidate. He pointed to recent elections in Kentucky and Michigan, where super PACs spent tens of millions of dollars on their chosen candidates (1, 2).

“We need to get that influence out,” Wachtaluk said. “Of the super PACs and then corporate PACs.”

Wechtaluk also wants term limits across the board, going so far as to include the U.S. Supreme Court. He understands people are worried the country could lose institutional knowledge, but explained much of that is maintained by political staffers. “If you look just in the 6th District alone, staffers who worked for John Delaney, they went over to work for David Trone, then to work for April McClain Delaney,” Wechtaluk said.

Nathanael Miller/WYPR News

The dollar-per-vote spending of each candidate in Maryland's district 6 Democrat primary election.

The Solution? Vote.

If citizens want to see new people in office, Wechtaluk said, voting is the way to go. He quoted the adage, “If you don’t vote, you can’t complain,” emphasizing that every vote matters. “There are so many tiers to elections and so many ways the electoral process works,” Wechtaluk said.

If people get out on the streets, they might just be surprised to see how many people agree with them, they might even start a movement, he said. For those who have the money to spare, he urged them to support their local candidates and likeminded organizations. If someone is not as outgoing, or may not have the money, he said, your vote still matters.

“As a politician and someone who has been involved in the political process, it is really easy for me to say, but just vote,” Wechtaluk said.

Early voting for Maryland’s 6th District general election will run from October 22 to 29, with polls opening from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3.