Dan Bongino

Daniel Bongino

Bongino in December 2011
Born December 4, 1974
Queens, New York, U.S.
Residence Severna Park, MD, U.S.
Alma mater City University of New York,
Queens College
Pennsylvania State
University, University Park
Political party
 Republican
Spouse(s) Paula Andrea Bongino
Website
Bongino For Congress

Daniel "Dan" Bongino is a former United States Secret Service agent who was the Republican Party nominee for Maryland's 6th Congressional District in the 2014 elections. Bongino lost a close race to Democratic incumbent John Delaney, coming within a few thousand votes of victory.[1] Bongino was also the Republican Party nominee in Maryland's 2012 election for the United States Senate, losing to incumbent Democrat Ben Cardin.[2]

Early life and education

Bongino attended the City University of New York, where he earned both a bachelor's and master's degree in psychology, and Penn State University, where he earned a masters in business administration.[3]

Law enforcement career

Bongino worked with the New York Police Department for four years, from 1995 to 1999.[4] He joined the U.S. Secret Service in 1999 as a special agent,[4] leaving the New York Field Office in 2002 to become an instructor at the Secret Service Training Academy in Beltsville, Maryland. In 2006, he was assigned to the U.S. Presidential Protection Division during George W. Bush's term. He remained on protective duty after Barack Obama became President, leaving in May 2011 to run for the U.S. Senate.[4]

Political campaigns

2012 U.S. Senate election

Bongino ran for political office to represent Maryland in the U.S. Senate.[5] Former gubernatorial candidate Brian Murphy was his campaign Chairman.[4] He won the Republican primary on April 3, 2012, with 33.8 percent of the vote, defeating nine other candidates. He ran against Senator Ben Cardin and Independent Rob Sobhani in the November 2012 general election and finished second with 26.6% of the vote.[6]

2014 House of Representatives election

Bongino ran for the U.S. House of Representatives seat from Maryland's 6th Congressional District in the 2014 election against incumbent Democrat John Delaney. The district is considered the 9th least compact Congressional district as a result of redistricting after the 2010 census.[7] In October 2013 Bongino was endorsed by an Allen West-affiliated group.[8][9] In July 2014 Bongino was endorsed by Rand Paul.[10] Bongino lost a close race, coming within a few thousand votes of an upset victory, despite the incumbent being heavily favored according to The Cook Political Report.[11]

Political positions

Bongino is a member of the Groundswell, a coalition of conservative and libertarian activists fighting to advance conservative causes, according to public documents.[12]

Bongino opposes the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (commonly referred to as Obamacare) and penned an editorial against it.[13]

Bongino has also written about the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.[14]

Book

In late 2013, Bongino's book about his career as a secret service agent, Life Inside the Bubble, was released and immediately made it onto both the New York Times and Amazon Best Sellers list. The book discusses his experiences protecting presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama and investigating federal crimes along with his 2012 run for the U.S. Senate in Maryland.[15]

The book caused controversy, with an anonymous former colleague criticizing him for trying to use his proximity to President Obama in his political career: "He's trying to draw attention to himself and he's hijacking the Secret Service brand. That's all he's got going for him." Bongino claimed to have had access to "high-level discussions" in the White House. Anonymous former colleagues said he "tends to exaggerate his importance on the presidential detail and exaggerate his proximity" and that "We don't sit in on meetings at the White House. We don't sit in on high-level meetings."[16]

In response to the criticism from an anonymous former colleague, Bongino stated "There's nothing confidential in the book" and "It's not a tell-all. It's my tale of the Secret Service."[17] The book itself contains no direct references to private conversations or attendance in high level meetings[18]

Personal life

Bongino is married to the former Paula Martinez and has two daughters. They reside in Severna Park, Maryland. Bongino and his wife are small business owners and their core business concentration is security-consulting, Internet design and development.[19] Bongino is a frequent radio host and commentator on both local and national radio programs. He is a guest host for both the Sean Hannity radio show and the Mark Levin radio show. Bongino has also provided guest commentary on both political and security matters for the NBC Nightly News, CBS This Morning, the Fox News Channel, CNN and MSNBC and a multitude of print and online outlets.[20]

Electoral history

2014 Maryland's 6th Congressional District General Election[21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic John Delaney (incumbent) 94,704 49.7 N/A
Republican Dan Bongino 91,930 48.2 N/A
Green George Gluck 3,762 2.0 N/A
2014 Maryland's 6th Congressional District Republican Primary[22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Dan Bongino 23,933 83.5 N/A
Republican Harold W. Painter, Jr. 4,718 16.5 N/A
United States Senate election in Maryland, 2012[23]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Ben Cardin (incumbent) 1,402,092 55.41 +1.20
Republican Daniel Bongino 674,649 26.66 -17.53
Independent S. Rob Sobhani 420,554 16.62 N/A
Libertarian Dean Ahmad 30,672 1.21 +1.21
N/A Others (write-in) 2,583 0.10 +0.05
Majority 727,443 100.00
Turnout 2,530,550 68.23
Democratic hold Swing
2012 Maryland Senate Republican primary results[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Daniel Bongino 66,561 33.8
Republican Richard J. Douglas 55,907 28.4
Republican Joseph Alexander 17,567 8.9
Republican Bro Broadus 10,503 5.3
Republican Rick Hoover 10,241 5.2
Republican John B. Kimble 10,088 5.1
Republican David Jones 8,002 4.1
Republican Corrogan R. Vaughn 7,869 4.0
Republican William Thomas Capps, Jr. 6,768 3.4
Republican Brian Vaeth 3,602 1.8

References

  1. ↑ "Unofficial 2014 Gubernatorial General Election results for Representative in Congress, Congressional District 6". The State Board of Elections. Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  2. ↑ "2012 Presidential General Election Results, U.S. Senator". The State Board of Elections. Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  3. ↑ http://www.bongino.com/about.html
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Ex-Secret Service agent Bongino enters race to unseat Cardin June 01, 2011 TheWashingtonPost by Ben Pershing
  5. ↑ "Bongino wins Republican primary for Maryland Senate seat". WMAR. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  6. ↑ "Maryland Senate Election Results 2012 - Map, County Results, Live Updates". POLITICO. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  7. ↑ Lazarick, Len. "Maryland has least compact congressional districts in nation". Maryland Reporter. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  8. ↑ West endorses Bongino's bid September 20, 2013 Political Notes by Bethany Rodgers Frederick News-Post Staff
  9. ↑ Allen West Offers First Round of Endorsements for 2013 and 2014 Elections by Kevin Derby October 10, 2013 Sunshine State News
  10. ↑ Everett, Burgess. "Rand Paul aims high in blue Maryland". Politico. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  11. ↑ Hernández, Arelis R. (31 October 2014). "In Maryland’s eight congressional races, incumbents face little competition". The Washington Post. Retrieved 23 November 2014. According to the highly regarded Cook Political Report, each incumbent is heavily favored to win
  12. ↑ "Inside Groundswell: Read the Memos of the New Right-Wing Strategy Group Planning a "30 Front War"". Mother Jones. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  13. ↑ Ex secret service agent blasts obama 2013 Frontpage Mag
  14. ↑ Bongino, Dan. "http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jul/24/still-no-benghazi-answers/". Washington Times. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  15. ↑ "Former Secret Service agent blasts ‘toxic’ administration". Page Six. 13 November 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  16. ↑ "Secret Service Agent Turns on Obama, Runs for Congress". ABC News. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  17. ↑ Joynt, Carol Ross. "What It’s Like Protecting the President: Former Secret Service Agent Dan Bongino Tells His Tale". The Washingtonian. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  18. ↑ Weingarten, Benjamin. "An explosive interview with ex Secret Service agent Dan Bongino, author of ‘Life Inside the Bubble’". The Blaze. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  19. ↑ http://crofton.patch.com/articles/getting-to-know-dan-bongino
  20. ↑ "Dan Bongino captures national attention as he campaigns in Md.". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  21. ↑ "Unofficial 2014 Gubernatorial General Election results for Representative in Congress". The State Board of Elections. Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Official 2014 Gubernatorial Primary Election results for Representative in Congress, Congressional District 6". The State Board of Elections. Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
  23. ↑ "Official 2012 Presidential General Election results for U.S. Senator". The State Board of Elections. Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  24. ↑ "2012 Presidential Primary Election Results". The State Board of Elections. Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved November 21, 2014.

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Preceded by
Michael Steele		 Republican nominee for Senator from Maryland
(Class 1)
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