Montgomery County Democrat April McClain Delaney is projected to defeat Republican former state Del. Neil Parrott of Washington County in a race for Western Maryland’s 6th Congressional District that was too close to be decided until mail-in votes could be counted.

NBC News projected McClain Delaney as the winner on Friday afternoon, and the Maryland Democratic Party issued a release congratulating her.

In a statement posted on X, McClain Delaney said she is grateful for every volunteer, voter and supporter who “put their faith in our vision.”

“I am deeply honored and humbled by the trust the people of Maryland’s 6th District have placed in me by electing me to be their next member of Congress,” the statement read.

In a request for comment, Parrott thanked his volunteers and said his campaign will “wait until all votes are counted before declaring victory or defeat.”

The district election was closely watched by both national parties because it could bear on which party controls the House. Republicans currently hold the majority, and both parties are awaiting the outcome of races that have yet to called.

McClain is a communications attorney from Potomac who is married to former Rep. John Delaney, who held the seat until 2019. Her victory means Democrats will continue to hold the seat.

The congressional district — the most competitive in the state — stretches from Montgomery County, a very blue Washington suburb, through purple Frederick County and into the Republican-oriented, far western region of Washington, Allegany and Garrett Counties.

Parrott, who was running for the seat for the third election in a row, was vying to become the first Republican from one of those three westernmost counties to win the seat since Allegany County Republican J. Glenn Beall Jr. won it 54 years ago.

Parrott, a conservative, previously lost to current Rep. David Trone twice, most recently by 54% to 45% in 2022. His campaign was aided financially by the House Freedom Fund, which supports right-wing House candidates such as Florida’s Byron Donalds and Colorado’s Lauren Boebert.

Trone, a Democrat who has held the seat since 2019, chose not to run for reelection and instead sought the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin’s retirement. Trone lost in the primary to Angela Alsobrooks.

McClain Delaney emphasized abortion rights and women’s safety and called Parrott hard-right “extreme.”

The district leans slightly Democratic. Currently there are 205,555 registered Democrats, 175,738 Republicans and 131,400 unaffiliated voters.

Republicans gained ground in the district following the 2020 census when state lawmakers subtracted a portion of Montgomery County in redistricting and added voters in Frederick County, where voter registration is more evenly split between the parties.

The new district was drawn by state Democrats after a judge rejected their initial version of the state’s congressional map as “a product of extreme partisan gerrymandering.”

Have a news tip? Politics editor Candy Woodall can be reached at cwoodall@baltsun.com, 443-571-1113 and on X as @candynotcandace.