Joe Vogel

Joseph Vogel (born January 4, 1997) is an Uruguay-born American politician who has served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from District 17 since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, his district includes the Montgomery County cities of Gaithersburg and Rockville; he represents the district alongside fellow Democratic delegates Julie Palakovich Carr and Ryan Spiegel.

In May 2023, Vogel announced that he would run for the U.S. House of Representatives in Maryland's 6th congressional district. He was defeated in the Democratic primary on May 14, 2024, placing second behind April McClain Delaney.

Early life and education Vogel was born in Montevideo, Uruguay on January 4, 1997, into the Uruguayan Jewish family of David Vogel and Gabriela Roitman. His ancestors immigrated there before the Holocaust. His father, David Vogel, worked as an advisor to the Uruguayan government. He immigrated to the United States with his family when he was three years old due to his father's job as a diplomat for the International Monetary Fund. His family settled in Rockville, Maryland, upon immigrating to the United States.

Vogel attended Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School. Vogel has said this is what motivated him to pursue a career in politics. He later attended George Washington University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in political science in 2018.

Career

Early career Vogel developed an interest in politics while in school, where he had been active in student government. After graduating from Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, Vogel embarked on a trip to Israel, and worked as a contributing author for The Times of Israel.

Vogel was a college intern for then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and then-Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. and worked as an advance lead for Ralph Northam's 2017 gubernatorial campaign and as advance director for Cory Booker's 2020 presidential campaign.

Vogel served on the Maryland Youth Advisory Council from 2015 to 2016. He also worked as a policy fellow at Interfaith Works in Montgomery County and founded Learn It Together, a nonprofit organization to help students of essential workers as they transitioned to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the primary, Vogel strategized with Connecticut state senator Will Haskell and hosted campaign events featuring Cory Booker.

Vogel was sworn into the Maryland House of Delegates on January 11, 2023. He represents District 17, which includes the cities of Gaithersburg and Rockville. In January 2026, Vogel was named as a deputy majority whip for the Maryland House of Delegates.

2024 congressional campaign

In May 2023, Vogel announced he would run for the U.S. House of Representatives in Maryland's 6th congressional district to succeed David Trone, who was running for the United States Senate in 2024 to succeed retiring Democratic senator Ben Cardin. If elected, he would have been the first Latino, first Gen Z, and first openly LGBTQ member of Congress from Maryland.

Vogel was seen as a frontrunner, alongside former National Telecommunications and Information Administration deputy administrator April McClain Delaney, in the Democratic primary, during which he received endorsements from various national groups and local officials, Vogel's campaign also focused on his legislative record and political activism toward abortion rights and gun control, as well as identity politics.

Vogel was defeated by McClain Delaney in the Democratic primary election on May 14, 2024, placing second with 26.3 percent of the vote. He conceded defeat that night and endorsed McClain Delaney in the general election.

Political positions During his House of Delegates campaign, Vogel ran on a platform that included climate, mental health, and economic issues.

Education Vogel supports making public colleges tuition-free, codifying President Joe Biden's cancellation of up to $20,000 in student loan debt into law, During the 2023 legislative session, he introduced a bill to forgive up to $30,000 in student debt for mental health professionals employed at Maryland public schools. During the 2024 legislative session, Vogel supported a bill to create a statewide health education framework.

Electoral reform Vogel opposes partisan gerrymandering. In August 2025, amid Republican efforts to redraw Texas's congressional districts to gain five congressional seats in the 2026 United States House of Representatives elections, Vogel said he would support a bill that would allow Maryland to redraw its congressional districts if any other state redrew theirs outside of the regular decennial census period, but expressed concern that a "nationwide battle around redistricting" could lead to further political polarization in the United States.

Environment

During the 2023 legislative session, Vogel introduced legislation to provide funding for climate startups.

Israel Vogel describes himself as an "outspoken supporter of Israel". The Senate voted to reject the resolution by a vote of 14–15, with one abstention, in May 2017. After Vogel was impeached from the GWU Student Association Senate for missing four consecutive meetings in violation of its attendance policy in 2018, he accused three of its members of being "closely aligned with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement" and of launching an effort to kick him out of the Senate following his efforts against the pro-Palestinian divestment resolution. In March 2018, after one of the three senators, Brady Forrest, was accused of antisemitism after old Facebook posts resurfaced showing Forrest calling for a boycott of a campus event sponsored by Jewish student groups that he claimed supported the 2014 Gaza War, Vogel drafted a letter signed by nearly 70 student leaders calling for Forrest's resignation. He spoke out against members of the Student Association Senate for failing to censure Forrest in April 2018.

In May 2023, Vogel said he supported the protests against proposed judicial reforms in Israel. He also criticized activist groups Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow as "fringe organizations" after they released statements accusing Israel of provoking the war, and cosigned a letter with other congressional candidates supporting President Joe Biden's actions toward the war. Vogel criticized calls for an unconditional ceasefire in the conflict, saying that any bilateral ceasefire must come with the release of all Hamas-held hostages and increased flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, but added that he supported U.S. calls for restraint and civilian protections in Israeli attacks. He called for the removal of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in March 2024, saying that peace could not be achieved in Israel with him in office. Chaudry was suspended from the commission by Attorney General Anthony Brown the following day. During the 2024 legislative session, after Chaudry was reinstated to the board in December 2023, Vogel introduced legislation to remove Chaudry from the board and replace her with "two members of the Muslim community" and another bill allowing for the removal of commission and task force members for "misconduct, incompetence, neglect of duties, or other good cause".

Gun policy Following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Vogel advocated for gun control. During his House of Delegates campaign, he said he supports legislation to hold gunmakers liable for school shootings; he also said he supports banning privately made firearms, increasing funding for violence prevention programs, and requiring gun owners to have liability insurance.

Health care Vogel supports Medicare for All but opposes making people give up their private insurance plans and prohibiting health care companies from covering procedures covered by Medicare. During the 2023 legislative session, he introduced the Josh Siems Act, which would require emergency rooms to include fentanyl testing in toxicology screens. The bill was named for Baltimore native Josh Siems, who died from a fentanyl overdose on his 31st birthday in 2022. The bill unanimously passed the Maryland General Assembly and was signed into law by Governor Wes Moore.

During the 2024 legislative session, Vogel introduced a bill to give state employees four hours of leave for cancer screenings

Immigration During his 2024 congressional campaign, Vogel expressed support for efforts to support DREAMers and DACA recipients. He supports the American Dream and Promise Act, which would codify provisions of the DACA program into law. He also introduced the Event-Goer Rights and Accountable Sales (ERAS) Act following the 2022 Ticketmaster controversy, which requires ticket issuers to enforce a ticket refund policy and ban restrictions on ticket resales and transfers. the Protecting the Right to Organize Act,

During the 2024 legislative session, Vogel introduced a bill that would require police to notify property owners to remove hateful graffiti from their properties. and supported a bill to prohibit school boards from banning books in school libraries. believing that it would not bring in additional revenue for the state and that it would hurt casino workers.

In February 2026, Vogel said that he supported universal childcare in Maryland.

Taxes During the 2023 legislative session, Vogel introduced a bill to provide tax credits to Maryland-based news media outlets with fewer than 50 employees for advertising costs.

Personal life Vogel lives in Gaithersburg, Maryland. He is Jewish and openly gay.

Vogel is trilingual; he speaks English, Spanish, and Hebrew.

Electoral history