THE WASHINGTON POST — In the most diverse state on the East Coast, Democrats seeking a rare open Senate seat attend forum for Latino voters

In their first shared stage in the vote-rich suburbs of D.C., the three Democratic candidates seeking Maryland’s open U.S. Senate seat pitched themselves to the state’s growing Latino population on Sunday, each arguing they could best represent the diverse community’s long-overlooked needs.

The promises made during a forum at a high school in Bladensburg frequently overlapped: to seek wholesale immigration reform, to expand voting access for undocumented people, to deliver better health care for noncitizens and to provide a better voice for representing communities that are reshaping the state and nation.

The newest contender in the race, telecom executive Juan Dominguez delivered parts of his comments in Spanish and noted that, as the son of Cuban immigrants, he would be the first Latino Maryland ever sent to Congress.

The candidates also pitched building better educational and economic opportunities, pressuring the federal government to pay for more of D.C.’s Metro system or moving aggressively to combat climate change. They each offered slightly different explanations for how they would be tough on repeat violent offenders.

Dominguez repeatedly pitched his plan for a “Robinhood tax” to reduce income inequality by taxing the wealthy to pay for programs that broadly benefit society.

“I will advocate for not only Latinos — all people of color, working class, middle class — to have the opportunities that they deserve that they don’t have readily today, because, again, our communities have been stripped of their wealth due to the tax code,” he said.

So far, the May 14 primary has largely been a contest between three-term congressman Trone, a self-funded business executive, and two-term Alsobrooks with her phalanx of the state’s Democratic establishment. Dominguez, whose campaign launched months after that of his opponents, so far lacks the funding and name-recognition of his well-established rivals.