Democrat
Jamie Raskin
Where you live: Takoma Park
Date of birth: Dec. 13, 1962
Current occupation and employer:
Current occupation: Member of Congress representing Maryland’s 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Previous occupations: Maryland state senator (District 20), professor of Constitutional Law at American University’s Washington College of Law and director of its Program on Law and Government.
Political experience:
Maryland state senator representing District 20; Senate Majority Whip, 2007-2016
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives (MD-8), 2017-present
Website: https://jamieraskin.com/
Facebook: facebook.com/raskin.jamie
Twitter: @jamie_raskin
Instagram: @raskinforcongress
Why are you running for this office?
I’m running for reelection to Congress because I remain passionately committed to defending constitutional democracy and freedom in America and equally passionate about ensuring government works for the people of Maryland’s 8th District.
As a member of the Select Committee on the Jan. 6 insurrection, I’m acting to fortify our democratic institutions against sabotage, and as chair of the Oversight Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Liberties, I’m defending basic rights and freedoms for millions of Americans.
What is the most important issue in this race and what specific plans do you have to address it?
My motto for my House office is that no job is too big or too small for us. Whether it is leading the impeachment of a dangerously corrupt president, finding a lost Social Security check for a retiree in Bethesda, increasing the NIH budget by billions or obtaining VA benefits for a veteran in Rockville, we act nimbly to get results for our people. My staff runs one of the most effective constituent service operations in Congress, and I use my constitutional knowledge and coalition-building experience every day to see America through the trials of our time.
What is one criticism you have received while in office and what is your response?
Our overarching challenge is to effectively confront the nightmarish effects of climate change, but we can’t do that when democracy itself is impaired by special interest control over the levers of political power.
To counter climate change, break from the carbon barons and unleash renewable energy technologies like solar and wind, we must redeem majority rule and America’s political institutions. This means reforming the filibuster, ending gerrymandering, protecting voting rights and dismantling state-based voter suppression tactics that form a matrix of democracy-repression.
What experience (work, political or other) has prepared you to hold this office?
In this hyper-partisan environment, I sometimes hear that I am not sufficiently bipartisan, which surprises my family, which teases me for being a middle child always seeking compromise, and my staff, which sees the bust of Lincoln on my desk and knows that 100+ of my bills passed with GOP support in Annapolis. I have formed strong relationships with constitutionalist GOP colleagues like Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, and even created alliances with Trump Republicans, like Jim Jordan, on specific bills, such as the Press Act.
Republican
Gregory Coll
Where you live: Rockville
Date of birth: Nov. 18, 1981
Current occupation and employer:
Systems engineer team manager, Northrop Grumman
Political experience:
Gregory Coll is an experienced Republican candidate that won the primary election for Representative in Congress for Maryland’s 8th Congressional District in 2020. He has served on the Liquid Propulsion Technical Committee of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics since 2013. He has connections with many members of Congress both senators and house representatives from Maryland, and other states. He has attended Congress and other related public hearings on capitol hill including Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee COMSTAC meetings.
When working at the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), he attended public events with the president of NBAA on Capitol Hill and other locations after the 9/11 attacks, on the topic of guns in cockpits of aircraft. He was president of the University of Central Florida GSA.
Website: https://www.gregorycoll.com/
Email: gregory.coll@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gregorycoll2
Twitter: https://twitter.com/collforcongress
Why are you running for this office?
Gregory Coll is very happy to announce his run for U.S. Congress Maryland District 8 to represent the people. Work in Washington is at a standstill, he wants to stop the distractions and keep focus on some of the key issues impacting Americans including: health care, jobs and employment, schools and education, climate and our environment, military and defense, gun violence, and the national space policy.
What is the most important issue in this race and what specific plans do you have to address it?
Recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic. Investing more in the National Institute of Health right here in Congressional District 8, providing the resources to the programs that would have reduced the death rates and financial impacts to the country and the world, and can help prevent future pandemics and impacts from biological warfare.
What is one major issue that has been handled poorly and what would you have done differently?
The way we pulled out of Afghanistan leaving military equipment, and unsupported individuals to fend for themselves against the Taliban. Gregory Coll would have had a slower progression of transition to the Afghan government and an organized departure with reach back support supplied to Afghanistan. Gregory Coll supports the Ukraine and wants to work on diplomatic solutions to stop the war and help the Ukraine recover from the devastation. He wants to hold Russia accountable for their actions in the region and supports NATO. He believes the U.S. needs a strong military with an emphasis on defense to combat growing threats domestically and abroad. Staying ahead in military technology is critical to maintaining U.S. global leadership and keeping our communities safe at home. Maryland is a leader in the field and has one of the largest defense contractors in District 8.
What experience (work, political or other) has prepared you to hold this office?
Gregory Coll is an experienced Republican candidate that won the primary election and was nominated for the general election for Representative in Congress for Maryland’s 8th Congressional District in 2020. He is currently working in the aerospace – defense field. He has served as a systems engineering team manager and systems engineering integrated team lead for military/civil communication networks domestically and with U.S. international allies including ground, space, and control segments. Been to six of seven continents minus Antartica. He served on the Liquid Propulsion Technical Committee of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics since 2013. He has connections with many members of Congress both senators and house representatives from Maryland, and other states. He has attended Congress and other related public hearings on capitol hill including Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee COMSTAC meetings.
