72 Facts About Neil Parrott

Neil Parrott began his career as a traffic engineer for the Maryland State Highway Administration and the city of Frederick, Maryland.

Neil Parrott first became involved in politics in 2002 and was elected as a Republican to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2010, first representing District 2B from 2011 to 2015 and then District 2A until 2023.

Neil Parrott ran for the US House of Representatives in Maryland's 6th congressional district in 2020 and 2022, losing both times to incumbent Democrat David Trone.

Neil Parrott ran for the 6th district for a third time in 2024, in which he was defeated by Democratic nominee April McClain Delaney in the general election.

Neil Parrott went on to the University of Maryland, College Park where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering in 1994.

Neil Parrott later attended graduate school and in 2006 graduated from Mount Saint Mary's University with a Master of Business Administration.

Neil Parrott began his career at the Maryland State Highway Administration where he was a traffic engineer.

Neil Parrott went on from there to become the Deputy Director of Engineering in the Frederick, Maryland Department of Public Works, where he helped hire a new traffic engineer for the city and purchase the extension of new sidewalk along the Golden Mile section of US Route 40.

Neil Parrott first got involved with politics in 2002, successfully suing the American Civil Liberties Union over the removal of a monument for the Ten Commandments in a public park in Frederick, Maryland.

In July 2009, Neil Parrott filed to run for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 2B.

Neil Parrott was sworn in as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates on January 12,2011, representing District 2B.

Neil Parrott was redrawn into District 2A during the 2010 redistricting cycle.

In February 2013, Neil Parrott was one of three House members who voted against reprimanding state delegate Tony McConkey, who failed to disclose a conflict of interest when pushing for legislation that would have allowed him to regain his suspended real estate license.

In January 2015, Parrott said he would apply to fill a vacancy in the Maryland Senate left by the resignation of Christopher B Shank.

In March 2013, Neil Parrott joined a Judicial Watch lawsuit that sought to overturn the results of the 2012 redistricting referendum, asking the courts to hold a new election using different ballot language.

In June 2015, Neil Parrott joined another Judicial Watch lawsuit against Maryland's congressional districts, claiming that the state's redistricting plan was unconstitutional.

In November 2021, ahead of the special legislative session to pass the newly drawn redistricting maps, Neil Parrott said he supported the maps drawn by Governor Larry Hogan's Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission.

Neil Parrott had participated in the MCRC's public hearing process, during which he advocated for adopting single-member legislative districts.

The Maryland General Assembly passed a new redistricting plan shortly after the ruling, during which Neil Parrott introduced an amendment to swap out the new map with the MCRC-drawn map.

On November 22,2019, Neil Parrott announced that he would run for the US House of Representatives in Maryland's 6th congressional district, challenging incumbent Democratic US Representative David Trone.

Neil Parrott was defeated by Trone in the general election on November 4,2020, receiving 39 percent of the vote to Trone's 58 percent.

Immediately following his defeat in 2020, Neil Parrott filed to run for the US House of Representatives in Maryland's 6th congressional district, again challenging Trone.

Neil Parrott defeated Washington Free Beacon journalist Matthew Foldi in the Republican primary election on July 19,2022.

Neil Parrott was defeated by Trone in the general election on November 8,2022.

On June 27,2023, Neil Parrott formed an exploratory committee to explore a potential third run for the district in 2024, seeking to succeed US Representative David Trone, who ran for US Senate in 2024.

Neil Parrott officially entered the race on February 9,2024, hours before the candidate filing deadline.

Neil Parrott was seen as a frontrunner, alongside former state delegate and 2022 gubernatorial nominee Dan Cox, in the Republican primary, during which Neil Parrott ran on a platform including securing the border, increasing fracking, tough-on-crime policies, and widening local highways.

Neil Parrott won the Republican primary election on May 14,2024, and faced April McClain Delaney in the general election.

Neil Parrott positioned himself as someone who lives and has raised a family in the district, contrasting himself with McClain Delaney, who lives in Potomac, Maryland.

Neil Parrott campaigned on the issues of transportation, immigration, and the economy, and pledged to join the Freedom Caucus if elected to Congress.

Neil Parrott was defeated by McClain Delaney on November 5,2024; he conceded the election to McClain Delaney on November 14.

In January 2025, Neil Parrott formed an exploratory committee to explore a fourth consecutive run for the district in 2026, seeking to challenge US Representative April McClain Delaney.

Neil Parrott testified against the bill on the House floor, during which he argued that children born into families with a mother and a father were more likely to succeed economically and socially, that the bill would "intentionally put a child into a family where the father will knowingly be absent", and suggested that legislators would eventually pass a bill requiring insurance companies to cover the cost of hiring a surrogate to carry a child for same-sex married men.

In 2017, Neil Parrott said he opposed a bill that would provide state funding to abortion services providers.

In May 2022, Neil Parrott promoted a petition that sought to create a ballot referendum to repeal the Abortion Care Access Act, a bill that would provide $3.5 million to expand who could provide abortion services.

In June 2022, Parrott celebrated the US Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization, calling it a "great decision".

In 2020, Neil Parrott introduced a bill that would require minors to receive parental consent to get an intrauterine device.

Neil Parrott supports requiring voters to show a government-issued voter ID before casting a ballot in elections.

In 2015, Neil Parrott introduced a bill that would delay primary elections if they fall on religious holidays.

Neil Parrott supported a constitutional amendment to enact term limits on members of the US House of Representatives and US Senate, but said he would not "term limit myself" if such an amendment does not pass.

In January 2012, Neil Parrott said he opposed a bill levying a sales tax on digital purchases, which he called an "app tax".

Neil Parrott introduced the bill in 2019 in response to bills that would raise the state minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026, later unsuccessfully attempting to amend the $15 minimum wage bill to add his county-by-county minimum wage bill.

In February 2017, Neil Parrott voted against a bill that extending the state's energy efficiency program, criticizing its utility bill fee as a "regressive tax".

In October 2024, Neil Parrott said he supported the Keystone Pipeline and cutting regulations to increase domestic energy production, and criticized the Biden administration for reducing the amount of federal land that could be used for fracking.

Neil Parrott supports keeping the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in place and moving toward a flat tax.

Neil Parrott supports cutting regulations to incentivize home construction and requiring federal housing vouchers and tax credits to be conditioned on localities building more housing.

In September 2015, Neil Parrott participated in a "Stop the Iran Deal" rally in Washington, DC.

Neil Parrott initially expressed openness to voting for legislation to provide aid to Ukraine amid the invasion, but told The Frederick News-Post in October 2024 that he opposed providing aid to Ukraine, instead advocating for US-led negotiations to peacefully end the war.

In January 2013, Neil Parrott said he would support Governor Martin O'Malley's bill to require a license to purchase a handgun if the bill included provisions to expand the right to carry.

Neil Parrott criticized the bill's provisions banning assault rifles and limiting magazine capacities.

In 2018, Neil Parrott introduced legislation to adopt the castle doctrine, which would allow homeowners to use deadly force against unlawful intruders.

Neil Parrott said he opposed a bill that would require background checks for long gun purchases.

Neil Parrott opposes the Affordable Care Act and has repeatedly called for its repeal.

In May 2020, Parrott joined a lawsuit with state delegates Dan Cox and Warren E Miller against Governor Larry Hogan's COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, claiming that his orders violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

In November 2020, Neil Parrott said he opposed legalizing medical marijuana, believing that it would lead to the legalization of recreational marijuana, thereby leading to increased traffic accidents.

Neil Parrott called for the repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act, but expressed openness to retaining provisions regarding prescription drugs.

In March 2019, Neil Parrott introduced an amendment to the state budget that would require the Maryland Department of Health to confirm an individual's immigration status before granting Medicaid benefits.

Neil Parrott said he supported a physical or electronic southern border to stop illegal immigration.

In September 2024, Neil Parrott criticized the Frederick Board of Aldermen's vote to allow undocumented immigrants who reside in the city to vote in local elections.

In 2016, Neil Parrott unsuccessfully ran for delegate to the Republican National Convention, pledged to US Senator Ted Cruz.

In November 2019, Neil Parrott predicted that the impeachment of Donald Trump would backfire on national Democrats, comparing it to how Republicans backfired from the impeachment of Bill Clinton.

Neil Parrott supported President Donald Trump's reelection bid in 2020, participating in a "Trump Bus" rally in September 2020.

In July 2022, Neil Parrott said he would have voted against certifying the election results in Pennsylvania and Arizona.

In 2020, Neil Parrott introduced legislation that would exempt law enforcement officers who live in Maryland but work in other states from taking handgun training.

Neil Parrott introduced a bill that would withhold state funding from colleges that offer gender-neutral housing, which failed to pass out of committee.

In 2018, Neil Parrott opposed a bill that would ban conversion therapy, claiming that it violated the First Amendment.

Neil Parrott responded similarly to David Trone raising the issue in the 2022 congressional campaign.

In 2017, Parrott opposed a federal bill that would remove a statue of Robert E Lee from Antietam National Battlefield, claiming that its sponsors were "progressive Democrats who are trying to erase history".

In 2019, Neil Parrott introduced a legislation that would declare exposure to pornography as a public health crisis.

In October 2021, Neil Parrott supported, but did not sign onto, a pair of letters to West Virginia officials asking about annexation of Western Maryland to West Virginia, citing the state's ban on fracking and the General Assembly "not caring about the needs of Western Maryland".

Neil Parrott got engaged to his wife, April, in March 1999, and married in July.

In October 2002, Neil Parrott was detained for shoving a police officer after he and his group, Friends of Frederick, were removed from a parade in Frederick, Maryland, for displaying a "Save the Ten Commandments" banner to protest calls for the removal of a Ten Commandments Monument in the Bentz Street Graveyard Memorial Park.