Last Thursday evening, the Hopkins College Republicans welcomed Maryland Congressional candidate and former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino to meet with students during a talk titled “Perspectives from a New Generation of Leadership.”
“This year we’ve really focused on reinvigorating the club, because it had been on more of the inactive side the past few years,” College Republicans President sophomore Christine McEvoy said. “[We plan to do this] by bringing Bongino in to be the main speaker for this semester and then also having meetings [and by] engaging with the Maryland community and the Republican Party at the state level as well so that we have a better understanding of the state that we are living in.”
Bongino, now 39, was a member of the US Secret Service for 12 years protecting President Barack Obama and President George W. Bush. However, he chose to resign from his behind the scenes position in order to pursue politics on his own.
He recently published a book titled “Life Inside the Bubble: Why a Top-Ranked Secret Service Agent Walked Away from It All,” which details his story.
Bongino was Maryland’s Republican candidate for Senate in 2012 but lost to incumbent Senator Ben Cardin. He now plans to run for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives for Maryland’s 6th district.
The College Republicans, who first met Bongino on their recent trip to the Maryland GOP (“Grand Old Party”) Oktoberfest over Fall Break, consists of approximately 100 members on campus.
“I didn’t know that much about him before the meeting, but we were really impressed by his enthusiasm and his energy,” McEvoy said.
A handful of Hopkins students as well as several interested students from nearby Loyola University attended the lecture.
Hoping to enliven support from the often-neglected young adult age group, Bongino presented the lecture as an informal conversation.
“I focus almost exclusively in my outreach — meaning outside of the district — on colleges because it’s a tautological statement to say that you’re the next generation. I think [of] us as a Republican party and I think a lot of folks in the group have acknowledged that we’re doing a very poor job reaching out to that 18-24 crowd,” Bongino said.
Bongino began by discussing his experiences prior to choosing politics. After graduating from the City University of New York with a degree in Psychology, he became a New York City Police officer.
“I found my way again and really kind of saw the devastation and economic destruction of New York City up close and personal by liberalism,” Bongino said.
Distancing himself from the views of traditional Republicans, Bongino maintained more libertarian viewpoints when expressing his opinions on multiple subjects like the economy and healthcare.
He also emphasized his ideas to reform the stereotypical Republican image.
“When I decided to run for senate I had nothing but people telling me please don’t do it,” Bongino said. “Nobody likes us in the establishment of the Republican Party. There’s a schism in the Republican Party.”
Despite the University’s location in Baltimore City and District 40, Bongino explained that his campaign aims to meet voters all across Maryland.
“There are definitely opportunities for people who want to campaign for him,” McEvoy said. “He is running in the 6th district, which is more of western Maryland, but there are definitely a lot of opportunities because he travels all over the state. He does talks at multiple colleges and towns outside of the district just to really get the word out and talk to people, and he really wants the students to be a part of that as well. So they are welcome to contact his campaign, and if they need help they can contact the College Republicans here.”
After a brief discussion about Bongino’s experiences and his general beliefs, Hopkins students in attendance asked about Bongino’s stance on specific, relevant issues.
The talk concluded and students were encouraged to relay their contact information to either learn more about or volunteer for Bongino’s campaign.
The Maryland Congressional elections will be held on November 4, 2014 and Bongino will be running against first term incumbent John Delaney.
In the future, the College Republicans plan to host more speakers promoting political awareness.
“We’re very happy with the turnout we’ve had so far and we do hope to grow more with some of the events we’re planning next semester,” McEvoy said.
