D.C. Delegate candidate wants Washington to merge with Maryland

Why become your own state when you can join an existing one? That's what David Krucoff is trying to convince Washingtonians who are hoping the nation's capital will land on a path to statehood, DCist reports.

Krucoff announced Tuesday that he's challenging incumbent D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton for her seat, the same week as the first D.C. statehood hearing in the House in more than 25 years. Krucoff is opposed to D.C. statehood in the traditional sense, but he does advocate for the district gaining representation on Capitol Hill — he just wants to join up with neighboring Maryland, instead, in which case the city would transform into Douglas County, retaining its initials in the process.

It's an idea called retrocession, and it's reportedly not particularly popular among residents of the nation's capital or those who live in Maryland. Some statehood advocates view it as an attempt by Republicans to prevent the district, which leans heavily blue, from electing their own senators. Krucoff, however, is running as an independent.

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Krucoff isn't expected to be a major threat to Norton. He said his cell phone serves as his campaign headquarters, and he's not even sure he can get the 3,000 signatures needed to get on the November 2020 ballot. But if he goes down, it appears he'll go down fighting. "What's harder?" Krucoff said. "Advocating here where we live or advocating around the country for a position that is clearly game-changing in terms of the make-up of the U.S. Senate? I'm saying, 'Join us, reunion, merger, regionalism, everything to do with working together.'" Read more at DCist.