THE GALL TO RUN

Since 1980, every two years, citizens in Maryland's 5th District have stepped in to the voting booth to elect their congressional representative. And for 15 consecutive elections, more of them have pulled the lever for Steny Hoyer than for his opponents.

Andrew Gall wants to end that streak. Gall, a 27-year-old graduate student in public policy, is running for the Democratic seat. He is asking primary voters to throw out the House Majority Leader and send him to Washington instead, even though he's been alive for two fewer years than Hoyer has been in Congress. Doing so, he said, will require an outpouring of student support to tilt the balance of power, and make him the second member of the millennial generation to be elected to congress.

Gall, a College Park resident who is working toward his master's here and at American University, is on the edge of a coming wave of millennial politicians. Where Hoyer was inspired as a student by seeing then-presidential candidate John F. Kennedy, Gall was inspired by his work as an organizer with the Obama campaign. Where baby-boomer politicians cite their experiences with civil rights and the Vietnam War, Gall talks about Hurricane Katrina and the invasion of Iraq.

Gall's wonkish nature surfaces when asked to list his reasons for running against Hoyer: the congressman's support of retroactive immunity for telecom companies that participated in the Bush administration's wiretapping program and his vote to give China most-favored-nation status without adding environmental or labor protections. But more than anything, it's Hoyer's support for the Iraq War that motivates Gall.

"I think that was a horrible decision. And [Hoyer] needs to be held accountable for that decision," he said.

Gall knows the odds are stacked against him — heavily. He knows members of Congress are re-elected at a 96 percent rate. He knows Hoyer, a university alumnus, has spent the past three decades spreading federal largesse on his district, while he only moved to College Park last year.

"There's no question it'll be an uphill slog," Gall said. "But you never know what will happen until you try it."

A slog might be a understatement. By virtually every measure, Gall trails Hoyer. Facebook fans? Gall has 179, and Hoyer has 2,172. Hoyer has $1.4 million in his campaign account, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Gall said he would rather not say how much he's raised.

"It would probably be impossible for a candidate like that to upset the majority leader," government and politics professor Paul Herrnson said. "There really is nothing in that candidate's power he can do besides hope the majority leader slips up."

To overcome Hoyer's enormous advantage in resources, which Gall admits he can't match — "I hate asking for money; it sucks" — he'll rely on the enthusiasm of young, progressive students. Gall said he plans to reach out to student activist groups and will give students a chance to play key strategic roles in his campaign.

"There's no question UMD students will play a role. I will win or lose based on the energy of students," he said. "I know if Steny or his people read that, they'll probably be excited because they don't have enough faith in young people."

Neither do most mainstream political scientists.

"Students do not turn out at high levels," Herrnson said. "Most of the Democrats who will vote in this election are loyal supporters of Hoyer."

But Gall thinks the Obama campaign proved this conventional wisdom wrong.

After graduating from Tulane University in 2005, he worked for a marketing firm, taught English as a second language in Prague and worked in AmeriCorps for a year before joining the nascent Obama presidential campaign. An Evanston, Ill. native, he volunteered at the Chicago campaign headquarters before being sent to Iowa. There, he saw students turn out for the future president in record numbers and helped President Barack Obama upset front-runner Hillary Clinton.

After Iowa, he was hired as a field organizer and was promptly sent to Alaska to organize for the caucus there as one of only three full-time Obama staffers in the nation's largest state.

"We dominated the caucus," Gall said with a grin.

He would go on to work in North Carolina and Colorado during the general election. To him, the experience instilled a belief in his own personal ability to make change, and the ability of others to band together and create it.

"I had volunteers who were in middle school, and I had volunteers who were 80-year-old ladies who would go out and knock on doors all day," Gall said. "I wouldn't be running for congress today if it wasn't for the inspiration I drew off the Obama campaign."

As for his age, Gall points out Hoyer was elected to the State Senate at 27, and says the millennial generation needs more of a voice in national policymaking. Only one member of congress — 28-year-old U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) — is part of the millennial generation.

"If you had more young people involved in politics, we'd see different policy outcomes," he said. "We're the most under-represented group in the nation."

The Hoyer campaign didn't respond to a request for comment. Hoyer's major challenger is considered to be Charles Lollar, a former chairman of the Charles County Republican Central Committee, who will be speaking to the university's chapter of the College Republicans today at 6:30 p.m.

Ultimately, Gall said, his decision to run was based on his belief that he would be a better choice for the 5th District, which stretches from the southern tip of St. Mary's County through southern Maryland to the edges of Anne Arundel and covers the western half of Prince George's.

"Do I want to vote for someone who supported the Iraq War? Do I want to vote for someone who goes against my values?," he asked. "No, I don't want to vote for that person. I'd rather present myself as an alternative instead of just checking off the democratic box."

robillard@umdbk.com