My Ballot Choices for Tomorrow's Primary

Just on the off chance that there are any Maryland (particularly Montgomery County) readers of this blog that are interested in hearing my ballot choices for tomorrow's primary election, here they are:

PRESIDENT: Mitt Romney. Romney has never been my first choice, but he is the only candidate with a mathematical chance of winning the GOP primary outright. I think that the sooner this primary wraps up and we can focus our attention on Obama, the better. Waiting till the convention to choose a nominee is a very bad idea and will likely guarantee a loss to Obama in November. Romney has weaknesses as a candidate, but I think he is a decent man and a very acceptable nominee and would be a vast improvement over Obama.

U.S. SENATOR: Daniel John Bongino. From what I have read, the two top-tier candidates in the race are Bongino and Richard Douglas. Of the two, I find Bongino more impressive. His website demonstrates his conservative beliefs and also is very detailed and substantive. His resume is also very impressive, and conservative blogs are buzzing about his passion and speaking ability. He has associated himself with the Tea Party movement and has been endorsed by several Tea Party members of Congress. My only concern about him is that his website does not address his positions on abortion and gay marriage, but the fact that the Maryland Right to Life has not endorsed a candidate in this race suggests to me that he is probably pro-life. Obviously, he is a long-shot against Democratic incumbent Ben Cardin, but if he is as good of a candidate as people are claiming, maybe he will make it a race.

U.S. REPRESENTATIVE 6TH DISTRICT: Roscoe Bartlett. This district was redrawn since the last election, and has gone from being a 40% Obama district to a 57% Obama district, meaning it will be a challenge for us to hold this district in the upcoming election. Bartlett is a long-time incumbent, but he has not faced a close race in a very long time and is about 85 years old. I'm a little worried that he may not be up for the tough campaign ahead. However, I have not found myself impressed with any of his 7 GOP challengers either. Supposedly the biggest threats to him are two opponents who are already members of the state legislature: Kathy Afzali and David Brinkley. I have read some negative things about Brinkley, who apparently is a fairly moderate Republican. Also, Bartlett has been an excellent congressman who has consistently fought against higher spending, and he has been endorsed by the Maryland Right to Life. And he has raised more money than all his opponents combined, which calls into question their claims that they would have a better chance of winning in the general election.

BOARD OF EDUCATION AT LARGE (MONTGOMERY CO.): For Board of Education, I always look at the candidates recommended by the teachers' union's "Apple Ballots" and make sure to vote the opposite, since I believe the teachers' unions deserve a large share of the blame for the problems we have with public education today. Most people apparently do not agree (or do not realize that Apple Ballot candidates are teachers' union endorsed, not necessarily teacher endorsed), since the Apple Ballot candidates always win. Anyway, incumbent Phil Kauffman is the Apple Ballot candidate, so he's out. Of the remaining candidates, I think I most prefer Aryeh Shudofsky, based on some of his answers to the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County's questions. Morris Panner might not be a bad choice either.

BOARD OF EDUCATION DISTRICT 2: I think the worst choice would be Saqib Ali, who is actually not an Apple Ballot candidate but is a left-wing activist and an awful former member of the House of Delegates (I used to be in his district when I lived in Montgomery Village). I would also avoid the two Apple Ballot candidates Jeanne Ellinport and Fred Evans. Almost by default, I settled on Susan Byrne as the best available choice. I liked what little information I could find about her. Both she and Shudofsky (above) are outsiders, and I think that's a good thing. The Montgomery County Board of Education could use some fresh blood.

Usually the candidates I vote for don't win. I hope this year is different!