Politics & Government

Sen. Ben Cardin To Face Towson Prof Tony Campbell In Fall Race

BREAKING NEWS: Republican nominee Tony Campbell will challenge incumbent Sen. Ben Cardin for U.S. Senate in November.

BALTIMORE, MD — Incumbent Sen. Ben Cardin won the Democrat nomination for U.S. Senate in Maryland’s primary Tuesday as he makes a bid for a third term, while Towson University professor Tony Campbell won the Republican nomination to face Cardin in November.

Cardin, 74, who served 20 years combined in the Maryland House of Delegates and the U.S. House of Representatives before winning the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Paul Sarbanes in 2007, had an approval rating of 50 percent in October, The Baltimore Sun reports.

Campbell teaches politics at Towson University and is focused on national security and smaller government. He said his top focus is “securing America’s infrastructure against foreign actors.”

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The win was called at about 11:08 p.m. Tuesday.

Seven Democrats challenged Cardin. Ten Republicans are vied for their party’s nomination to face the Democrat in the November general election.

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Many people were surprised when Chelsea Manning, a transgender woman who is the former Army private convicted of leaking troves of government documents to WikiLeaks, filed her paperwork to challenge Cardin. While Manning has name recognition and her candidacy drew national media coverage, political observers say she has not campaigned widely for the seat.

Here is an overview of the 2018 Senate candidates, with information from their websites:

Democrats

  • Ben Cardin: Cardin is the current Democratic member of the U.S. Senate from Maryland. He was first elected in 2006 and currently serves as a Ranking Member of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee. He is a senior member of he Senate Foreign Relations and Environment & Public Works committees and also serves on the Senate Finance Committee. He is a strong supporter of the Affordable Care Act and led the fight to guarantee access to dental care for children in the Children's Health Insurance Program, following the tragic loss of a 12-year-old Prince George's County boy who died after complications that followed an untreated tooth infection.
  • Erik Jetmir: Jetmir, of Bowie, is the Chief Petty Officer in Navy Reserves and Senior Research Scientist. He is focused on providing free college, including housing, meals, childcare and medical insurance.
  • Chelsea Manning: Manning, a North Bethesda resident, is a progressive activist and writes on various issues including transparency, free speech and civil liberties.
  • Marcia Morgan: Morgan is focused on income inequality, women's rights and affordable housing.
  • Jerome Segal: This Silver Spring resident believes in a guaranteed job for all able to work, free higher education in public colleges, Medicare to all and "values-based foreign policy." Read more here.
  • Richard Vaughn: Born and raised in Baltimore, Vaughn went from being homeless to a multi-homeowner. He was convicted of a felony as a teenager and is now studying at Abraham Lincoln University School of Law. He is pushing for gun control and criminal justice reform.
  • Debbie Wilson: Wilson is a former public school teacher and college professor who wants educational reform. She will "fight for smaller classes, diverse learning environments, and community hubs to support educational equity," her website states.
  • Lih Young: This Rockville resident has been a candidate for public offices since 1994. She has ran for Rockville Mayor in 1997 and 199, State Comptroller in 1998 and more. Young is focused on preventing official misconduct and hidden agendas.

Republicans

  • Tony Campbell: Campbell teaches politics at Towson University and is focused on national security and smaller government. He said his top focus is "securing America's infrastructure against foreign actors."
  • Chris Chaffee: Chaffee is focused on halting the opioid epidemic and promoting Second Amendment rights. He wants to defund Planned Parenthood.
  • Evan Cronhardt: He wants a single payer and free market healthcare system hybrid, green technology and hopes to create legislation that has shareholders pay a percentage of an employees wages above each state’s minimum wage.
  • Nnabu Eze: Eze is originally from Nigeria and was the Green party nominee for MD-03 in 2016. He is focused on veterans' rights, immigration reform and health care.
  • John Graziani: Graziani ran for Senate in 2016, and was a candidate for MD-04 in 2014.
  • Christina Grigorian: Grigorian is an attorney who is focused on public safety, public transportation and ensuring all children receive an education.
  • Albert Howard: Howard is a former U.S. Army Staff Sergeant who believes the best way to maintain peace is through a strong military.
  • Bill Krehnbrink: From Perry Hall, Krehnbrink is running an "Everybody's Gotta Go!" campaign. He believes "congressmen have so entrenched themselves that they don’t even talk to anyone."
  • Gerald Smith: RedMaryland.com calls Smith a "conspiracy theorist." Smith runs a website to expose human rights violations.
  • Blaine Taylor: Taylor, from Towson, told The Capital Gazette he wants to ban the sale of assault rifles, arm security guards in all schools and implement a mandatory death sentence for all convicted murders.
  • Brian Vaeth: Vaeth withdrew from the Senate race. He endorsed Tony Campbell.

»Patch will update this story with developments and election results throughout the day. See a vote table with GOP and Democratic results once polls close at the bottom of the story.

Here are the U.S. House races:

1st District:

Democrats

Republicans

Libertarians

2nd District:

Democrats

Republicans

Libertarians

3rd District:

Democrats

Republicans

Libertarians

4th District:

Democrat Anthony Brown, incumbent will face Republican George McDermott in November.

5th District:

Democrats

Republicans

Democrats

Republicans

Libertarians

You can also find more information on statewide races on the Ballotpedia website.

SEE ELECTION RESULTS BELOW

(Image via Shutterstock)

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