Old Line Elephant Maryland Conservative Blog

My 2012 Primary Votes

As I try to do each year, I plan to lay out how I will be voting this Tuesday on primary day. Let's go through race by race:

President / Delegate to Republican National Convention: At the end of December, I wrote up a piece laying out why I was planning to vote for Rick Perry in the primary. A  lot has happened since December, not the least of which is that the Perry has dropped out and endorsed Newt, one of the final four remaining candidates in the GOP primary. That said, I wanted to vote for the best candidate in the race (Rick Perry) and still plan to do so for President. Perry is still the best choice, even if he's not on the ballot. Sure, it may be a protest vote, but as I said recently - the Presidential primary is effectively over with Romney as the de facto nominee. Now, on to Delegate - I plan to vote for the slate for the "Mittness" both for primary choice and alternate. Why? I don't want a floor fight at the convention. I know the Mittness is going to win statewide, giving him the full slate of statewide delegates. That said, I want to prevent a floor fight if Romney just misses the threshold so we can all just move on from there.

US Senate - I have made it pretty clear for a while that I'm a big fan of Dan Bongino. He has an impressive personal story; can talk off the cuff on conservatism with force, bravado, and honesty; and he is humble. All three are impressive and useful characteristics for a US Senator. Add to that the fact that Bongino has been the strongest fundraiser of all the GOP candidates and you've got a powerful combination. Also, see the awesome endorsements (Ready, Lee, Rutledge, Craig, Walsh, etc). I will vote for whomever the GOP nominee ends up being (I mean, I voted for Wargotz in 2010), but Bongino will be the best option. If Bongino does not get the nomination - I see Robert Broadus or Richard Douglas as the strongest alternatives. But, as I said - I'm voting Bongino and hope others will too. Lots of others.

Congress (MD-02) - There are three major candidates for Congress in the 2nd Congressional District - Delegate Rick Impallaria, State Senator Nancy Jacobs, and former Lieutenant Colonel Larry Smith; only the latter two would I consider. Impallaria is a crony of Pat McDonough and, frankly, is not a realistic choice for me, bringing it back to Smith or Jacobs. Smith is an outsider, in theory. A former Lieutenant Colonel, former aide to Congressman Andy Harris, and well versed in the issues. Jacobs has a record in politics, a fairly solid record on the issues, and endorsements from some GOP powerhouses like Craig, Ehrlich, Sauerbrey, and Andy Harris. Either one would be a solid nominee in the general, but I think Jacobs edges out Smith. So, I plan to vote for Nancy Jacobs.

Judge of the Circuit Court Judicial Circuit 3 - Nancy M. Purpura is running unopposed. There is no write-in option. I do not plan to vote in this race. I'll make a decision in the general as this primary vote really does not matter.

Feel free to comment on my votes or let me know how you plan to vote.