Wednesday, May 9, 2012
In an interview on ABC News, the president says he supports same-sex marriage. The issue is likely to go to referendum in Maryland this fall.
President Barack Obama picked the day after a decisive vote in North Carolina to announce that his "evolution" on the issue of same-sex marriage was complete—he now supports it. In an interview with ABC News on Wednesday, Obama said: I have to tell you that over the course of several years, as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors, when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don't Ask Don't Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage—at a …
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Join us at 2 p.m. Friday for a live blog with David Moon, the blogger behind Maryland Juice.
The special session. Ike Leggett's future. Doug Duncan's future. Presidential politics. Gubernatorial politics. It's an exciting time for Maryland. Join us at 2 p.m. Friday where Patch editors and Maryland Juice's David Moon discuss Free State politics. What topics should we cover? Let us know in the comments ...
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Focus for now is Delaney's congressional bid, former county executive says.
Douglas M. Duncan said Tuesday nothing has changed as he contemplates his political future. “I’m looking at all my options,” Duncan said in a telephone interview. His comments followed a NewsChannel 8 report that he is narrowing his focus on a run for state comptroller or a bid to return as Montgomery County Executive. “I’m not running for governor, not running for Congress,” Duncan, the county executive from 1995 through 2007, told Rockville Patch. Duncan said he’s not particularly focused on the crowded field of potential candidates for comptroller, but is “exploring things” to see “where I’d be the best fit.” He said he has not conducted any polling, nor does he have any immediate plans to do so. “I’m going to a lot of events, talking …
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Volunteers at polling places on Tuesday solicited signatures on a pledge to support the recently passed law.
In front of Robert Frost Middle School in Rockville, Sharon Vignati and Denise Woodard, armed with clipboards and pens, asked voters Tuesday evening to support an issue that wasn’t on the primary election ballot. In February, the Maryland General Assembly voted to legalize same-sex marriage. Vignati and Woodard want to make sure that stays in place. Opponents are attempting to collect 55,736 valid signatures from Maryland voters by June 30 to block the new law from taking effect on Jan. 1, The Washington Post has reported. If they get the necessary signatures, voters would be asked on the November ballot whether to repeal the law. “We’re asking people to sign a pledge that if it goes to the ballot, that they’ll vote not to let (the repeal…
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Participation in Tuesday's election was particularly low—even for a primary.
Did you vote on Tuesday? If not, why not? It was slow going at polls in the early hours at many polling locations. Patch reported low turnout at precincts in Bethesda, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Kensington, North Potomac, Potomac and Rockville. Voter turnout picked up at some polling places in the evening hours, but remained less than usual. Primary election turnout is traditionally much lower than that of general elections. But elections officials and campaigns alike pinned the especially low turnout in Montgomery County in Tuesday’s primary—14.79 percent of all registered voters vs. 20 percent for typical primary elections—on timing. Maryland’s 2008 presidential primary was held in February. Previous primaries were held in March. The …
In the Montgomery County Board of Education primary, Morris Panner took the No. 2 spot for the At-Large ballot; Fred Evans and Rebecca Smondrowski took the top spots for District 2.
Although the Republican presidential primary bolstered Maryland into national headlines Tuesday, locally Montgomery County voters also narrowed the field for the Board of Education’s general election in November. The unofficial results show that Phil Kauffman and Morris Panner beat out the two other candidates on the ballot to advance to the general election for the at-large seat. Kauffman received 60.3 percent of the vote, and Panner received 17 percent of the vote. The next runner-up, Lou August, received 11.9 percent of the vote. "I am really honored to have received the support I did," Panner, a resident of the Town of Somerset in Chevy Chase, told Chevy Chase Patch. "It is such an important time in our [c]ounty's history and a …
Incumbents Cummings, Harris, Ruppersberger, and Sarbanes also lock up primary wins.
UPDATED (11:15 p.m.)— Mitt Romney has won the Maryland Republican presidential primary, according to multiple news outlets. At 11 p.m., Romney leads Rick Santorum 91,402 (48 percent) to 57,299 (30 percent) with 1,281 of 1,851 precincts reporting. "I voted for Romney, he's the lesser of the evils," said Lisa Watts of Darnestown, MD. Chuck Duvall also of Darnestown, said he voted for Ron Paul, but expected Romney to win the Maryland primary. Both he and his wife, Ruth, said they planned to support Romney against Democratic incumbent President Barack Obama even though he wasn't their primary selection. A Romney win in Maryland was not unexpected. CNN declared Romney the winner at 8 p.m. when polls in Maryland and Washington closed. “Maryland’…
The 2011 decision that moved Maryland's primary election day to April also caused it to coincide with Montgomery County Public Schools' spring break and may have contributed to a low reported voter turnout in Montgomery County, MD.
Updated, 11:30 a.m.: Spring break may be partially to blame for low voter turnout throughout Montgomery County during Tuesday’s primary elections. While Montgomery County traditionally sees turnout around 20 percent during primary elections, according to Board of Elections member Nahid Khozeimeh, Tuesday's voter turnout totaled much lower at 14.79 percent. Many polling officials and campaign representatives worried that spring break played a large part in the low turnout, with longtime election judges, campaigners and voters spending the week before Easter and Passover on vacation with families. “We’re probably looking at single digit returns,” Majorie Roher, public information officer for the county's Board of Elections, guessed on …
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Check out the charts below for preliminary results in Tuesday's primary elections.
- ELECTIONS
-
Tuesday, April 3
Sen. Ben Cardin easily won the Democratic primary Tuesday for U.S. Senate, far outpacing his closest challenger, state Sen. C. Anthony Muse of Prince George’s County. Cardin, 68, will run for his second term against the winner of the Republican primary—which, as of 10 p.m., was a tight race between candidates Dan Bogino and Richard J. Douglas. Incumbent candidates easily won their Congressional primaries throughout the state. Republican Rep. Andy Harris in District 1 and Democrat C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger in District 2 ran unopposed in their primary races. Republican state Sen. Nancy C. Jacobs of Harford County was winning her party's primary Tuesday and was the likely contender to take on Ruppersberger in November. It is unclear what …
Early unofficial results are in for Maryland's primary.
Update, 10:31 p.m.: Rep. Chris Van Hollen continues to hold the lead in the Democratic congressional primary with almost 90 percent of the votes. While, Democratic challenger George English has about ten percent of the votes. On the Republican side, Ken Timmerman continues to lead with almost 45 percent of the votes, followed by Dave Wallace with slightly more than 36 percent of the votes. In the Maryland senate race, incumbent Sen. Ben Cardin still holds a commanding lead of the Democratic primary with 73 percent of the votes, with the closest challenger, Maryland State Sen. Anthony Muse pulling in almost 16 percent so far. Original Story: The night isn't over, but with early, unofficial results reported incumbent Rep. Chris Van Hollen …
Michael Shapiro
3:19 pm on Thursday, May 10, 2012
@JH...Yet another stupid, bigoted comment. more ›