Shelia Bryant

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Shelia Bryant

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

June 2, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

Jackson State University

Graduate

Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government

Law

Thomas Jefferson School of Law

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Marine Corps

Years of service

1982 - 2012

Personal

Birthplace

McComb, Miss.

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Campaign YouTube

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Shelia Bryant (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Maryland's 4th Congressional District. She lost in the Democratic primary on June 2, 2020.

Bryant completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Shelia Bryant was born in McComb, Mississippi. Bryant served in the United States Marine Corps from 1982 to 2012. She earned a bachelor's degree in mass communications from Jackson State University in 1977. Bryant attended the University of Southern California from 1982 to 1987. She earned a J.D. from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in 1999. She earned a master's degree in public administration from Harvard Kennedy School in 2019. Bryant's career experience includes working as an attorney. She has a certification as a fraud examiner and has served as a member with the California State Bar Association and the Maryland State Bar Association.

Bryant has been affiliated with the American Civil Liberties Union, Color of Change, Families Against Mandatory Minimums, the Human Rights Campaign, Moms Demand Action, the National Council of Negro Women, Re-Entry Working Group, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Elections

2020

See also: Maryland's 4th Congressional District election, 2020

Maryland's 4th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 2 Republican primary)

Maryland's 4th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 2 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Maryland District 4

Incumbent Anthony G. Brown defeated George McDermott in the general election for U.S. House Maryland District 4 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Anthony G. Brown (D)	79.6	282,119
		George McDermott (R)	20.2	71,671
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	739

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 354,529
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 4

Incumbent Anthony G. Brown defeated Shelia Bryant and Kim Shelton in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 4 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Anthony G. Brown	77.6	110,232
		Shelia Bryant	18.8	26,735
		Kim Shelton	3.6	5,044

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 142,011
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 4

George McDermott defeated Nnabu Eze and Eric Loeb in the Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 4 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		George McDermott	56.4	11,131
		Nnabu Eze	22.9	4,512
	Submit photo	Eric Loeb	20.8	4,098

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 19,741
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Shelia Bryant completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Bryant's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Shelia Bryant is a Progressive Democrat. She is a retired USMC Colonel, an attorney, wife, and mother who has spent her life as a public servant, always searching for ways she can contribute to the betterment of the human condition. Shelia believes there is a fundamental lack of leadership in America, where too many elected leaders focus on re-election rather than serving the needs of their communities.

Intellectually curious, Shelia is always eager to learn more, to do more, and to serve more. She has experienced many of the things life can throw at a person; poverty and deprivation, a broken home, losing her mother to violence and drugs, domestic violence, small business ownership, the joys of motherhood, achievement in the military and in civil service, marriage and success. She never stops fighting for causes that are just and believes that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect regardless of the circumstances from which they came or their age, sex, identity, religion, race, culture, color, or cause.

Shelia is a fierce advocate and activist for the underserved and the voiceless. She has marched, petitioned, written letters, organized, and been jailed in order to take a stand against injustice and discrimination. In these days, when bipartisan grandstanding interferes with the growth and healing of this country - she is determined to help bring about bold, positive, and impactful leadership in her capacity as Congresswoman when elected.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Healthcare is a right, not a privilege.
• The Green New Deal is an important policy to promote healing the earth and providing new renewable energy union jobs.
• Criminal Justice Reform is long overdue.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

What has become very apparent is the need to reform Campaign Finance laws so that REAL people, who are authentic and well-meaning can have the opportunity to be elected without the extreme cost associated with campaigning. Further, when "dark money" donors and corporate PACs can introduce obscene amounts of money into campaigns, the principles of democracy are threatened. We must overturn "Citizens United".

A foreign policy which deploys military force rather than diplomatic engagement must be curtailed, such that the military is not used to promote regime change and imperialism, but rather peace. I believe we should reduce military spending and build a strong and capable State Department with leadership that does not compromise American values.

Regulations and tax laws that cater to the wealthy and well-connected must be revisited so that all Americans can experience the elusive "American Dream". Our children, for the first time in history, may not be afforded the same standard of living as their parents because wages have not been tied to rises in the cost of living, and student loan debt that burdens young people and cripples their ability to have children and own a home and create wealth. The concept that we should enjoy "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" can only be realized when it's available to everyone. All Americans should be free from harassment, discrimination, and a government that would deny them the resources to achieve their best selves.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

There are several people who I look up to; my uncle Curtis (CC) Bryant, my cousin Moses Robinson and my stepmother, Elnora Bryant. Uncle Curtis was a civil rights leader who understood that in order to make a change you have to take risks. He was president of the local NAACP in McComb MS for over 30 years, when doing so could cost your life. He helped to register Blacks to vote and teach them about our rights and our legacy - I feel deeply connected to his activism and I believe it fuels mine.

My stepmother was a high-school English teacher and then a director for the Head Start Program. I saw her, probably the first Black woman that I knew personally, get up every day, put on stocking and a suit, and drive to work in her Camero. She made me know that I didn't have to settle for menial jobs, that I could be anything I wanted. That vision remains in my head even now.

Moses Robinson is my cousin, who was the poster Marine. He was tall and Black and handsome and strong-willed and wore the uniform so well. When he came home on leave he would play the guitar, tell stories and read to us when I was a child. When I became an adult and had graduated from JSU, he advised me to join the Marines and become an officer - to see the world and serve my country. I followed his advice and it changed my life.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I believe that my compassion, integrity, energy, passion, and a sense of justice are qualities that make me an ideal representative. I have the ability to see both sides of a situation and try very hard to understand what motivates others to act as they do.

What legacy would you like to leave?

At the end of the day, when I surrender and prepare for the next unknown adventure, I would like to be remembered in this world as someone who cared, acted, and who changed the world for better. I

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The first historical event that I remember was the assassination of JFK. I was in second grade and I remember walking home that day and seeing crowds and people crying. When I got home, the news was on tv and that was all they talked about. I distinctly remember Caroline Kennedy, who was about my age at the time, with her mom and thought it would be sad if my Dad was killed by someone for no reason.

I was also in LA when Dr. Martin Luther King was killed and it was much more emotional for me because I was older and able to absorb what was going on. We were all assembled on the playground and the Principal announced that Dr. King had been killed by an unknown assassin. Everybody had Dr. King's picture on their wall, along with JFK - but the violence that ensued after King's assassination was much more memorable and tangible. I recall being told to stay inside and the fires and looting that occurred all over the country. My uncle came to visit my mom and us and brought food and news from outside. There was a curfew because it was so dangerous to go outside at the time.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was working at a radio station in Jackson, MS after graduating from Jackson State University with a degree in Mass Communications. I worked there for several years, primarily doing advertising traffic and producing copy for clients. It also exposed me to many opportunities to do side jobs as a DJ and to promote blues and gospel records. I am a staunch music fanatic and own a collection of albums that range from Albert King to Barry White and lots in between. In my spare time, you can find me at the outdoor jazz or blues concert, preferably somewhere near the water. My last live concert was the Newport Jazz Festival.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Just Mercy - Bryan Stevenson. It tells a story that makes illuminates the historical and systemic racism that has created mass incarceration and extreme injustice of the criminal justice system in America.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

I'm a Survivor!

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

We are mired in the economic consequences of a historical pandemic that has caused death and pain to the many people. As a result of the leadership vacuum of our federal government, other countries, and others in government have arisen to take control and give people hope and direction during this crisis. Overcoming the fallout from the horrible image we have attained during this administration will be the greatest challenge facing this nation over the next decade. We have abandoned true diplomacy, exhibited weak and self-serving policies, and a complete break with the norms that have established the United States as a country to be emulated and respected.

We must bring unity and peace and a sense of pride in our diversity and our freedoms; freedoms that the military and the workers and religious leaders and the mom and pop businesses and the students and the children and the seniors of this country still strive for and fight for and deserve. We need leaders who have experienced life and who understand what that means. We need leaders who are not in office simply to enrich themselves or gain power, but to bring about justice and peace. Accomplishing that will be hard, but not impossible.

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Footnotes

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Maryland's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Angela Alsobrooks (D)

Chris Hollen (D)

Representatives

District 1

Andrew Harris (R)

District 2

John Olszewski (D)

District 3

Sarah Elfreth (D)

District 4

Glenn Ivey (D)

District 5

Steny Hoyer (D)

District 6

April McClain-Delaney (D)

District 7

Kweisi Mfume (D)

District 8

Jamie Raskin (D)

Democratic Party (9)

Republican Party (1)