CALLAWAY, Md. (Sept. 15, 2010)—Charles Lollar defeated three other Republican candidates in Tuesday's Primary Election, earning him the right to face incumbent Steny Hoyer in November for the House seat in Maryland's 5th Congressional District. Many consider Lollar to be the toughest challenger to Hoyer in decades.
Preliminary numbers give Lollar 58.07% (16,097 votes) of the votes, followed by fellow Charles Countian Collins Bailey with 31%. Also-ran candidates include Chris Chaffee with 5.62% and Chris Robins with 5.3%.
At a press conference this morning, Bailey and Lollar both stressed the friendship they have always had with each other and their shared principles. In his speech, Bailey affirmed that having a fiscal conservative win this election was more important to him than any other consideration and that he would help campaign for Lollar. "This race was never about personality. It's about our country," added Lollar.
Lollar said the economy is one of the top issues of his campaign. "I also want to encourage a sense of unity in Maryland by bringing common sense solutions to the table that unite us and bring jobs and wealth back to our state and our nation," said Lollar.
As expected, Hoyer easily defeated both of his Democratic challengers, Sylvanus Bent and Andrew Gall. Preliminary numbers give Hoyer
85.73% of the vote (55,987 votes) compared to Gall's 9.7% and Bent's 4.56%.
This year's competition drew Hoyer out of Washington to do face-to-face campaigning on election day. Hoyer talked with voters at the Mechanicsville Firehouse in St. Mary's County, the Calvert County Elk's Lodge in Prince Frederick, Deale Elementary School in Anne Arundel County, the Waldorf Elk's Lodge in Charles County, and Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Prince George's County, according to his campaign office.
The number of Democrats vs. Republicans who voted for the 5th District seat was almost 2.4:1—65,303 Democrat votes and 27,718 Republican votes have been reported to date.