Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
CHEVY CHASE, Md. (WMAL)– Primary voters in Chevy Chase Village walked past rows of campaign signs Tuesday bearing the names of candidates for president, Senate and the 8th District Congressional seat.
This is an especially important primary because the three major races are all hotly contested.
“We always vote, but it was harder this year than most years,” said resident Anne Urban. For her and her friend, the 8th District Congressional race was the one they were most torn about.
The Democratic frontrunners hoping to replace Rep. Chris Van Hollen include State Sen. Jamie Raskin, Total Wine and More owner David Trone and former WJLA anchor Kathleen Matthews. A total of nine Democrats are running in the primary. The five Republican candidates include attorney Shelly Skolnick and financial advisor Aryey Shudofsky.
Resident Ruth Robbins was most concerned about voting Van Hollen back in office. The congressman is one of two top Democratic contenders vying to replace long-time Sen. Barbara Mikulski. The other frontrunner on the Democratic ticket is Donna Edwards. Republicans running for the Senate seat include: National Association of Manufacturers executive Chrys Kefalas, House Minority Whip Kathy Szeliga, tire company owner Joe Hooe and former Pentagon official Richard Douglas.
For others, not surprisingly, the most important vote they cast today was for president.
“A member of Congress is one of 400 and some, right, but the president is one, and it’s so important, and we’ve had so much conflict at that level in the last few years,” said resident Roxanne Davidson.
Coming out of the polls, Davidson was still torn. She thought there were good choices for presidential candidates but felt they all had flaws.
Others weren’t as enthusiastic about their choices.
“Not totally thrilled with the choices, but mostly I’m voting against Washington. I’m voting for Trump,” said resident Lindsay Conway.
Robbins said she voted for Clinton but not enthusiastically. Another woman told WMAL she wasn’t excited about any of the candidates she voted for today.
Polls close in Maryland at 8 p.m.
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