'He's Got Balls': MD Voters Weigh In On Presidential Race, Abortion Referendum
PERRY HALL, MD — President Joe Biden (D) may have called supporters of former President Donald Trump "garbage" last week. Baltimore County Republican Jeff Insley took that seriously.
Insley wore a trash bag to the polls to vote for Trump on Election Day.
"I'm what the president calls me," the garbage bag-clad Insley said Tuesday before voting at Perry Hall High School. "I want to look appropriate."
During an Oct. 27 Trump rally, a comedian called Puerto Rico "a floating island of garbage." Biden responded two days later on a call, saying what seemed like "The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters." The White House then released a transcript of Biden's call that instead used "supporter's," meaning the comedian's comments were the garbage, not the millions of Trump voters. The Associated Press later reported that the meaning-changing apostrophe was added despite protests from stenographers, further confusing who exactly Biden was insulting.
Presidential Election
Insley also wore his Make America Great Again hat inside-out to avoid displaying campaign materials in the polling booth. He was one of several Perry Hall voters decked out in GOP gear.
Noreen Kennedy wore a Trump 2024 shirt to cast her third-consecutive presidential vote for him.
"He protects our borders. He wants us to have our own energy [production domestically]," Kennedy said. "He's got balls."
Joe Rodriguez also voted for Trump. Patch caught up with Rodriguez while he admired a parked pro-Republican pickup truck.
A cutout of Trump's head adorned both backseat window. The tailgate featured a drawing of Trump holding an automatic firearm standing in front of raining dollar bills and a military weapon emblazoned with his "You're fired" catchphrase popularized on his TV show, "The Apprentice." A bald eagle holding a mcahine gun flew in front of an American flag and the words "Defeat socialism" and "Deafeat Democrats."
Rodriguez, who supported building the southern border wall, thinks Trump is the best candidate to handle immigration and the economy.
"Inflation [is] going on. Prices are going up. We're suffering out here," Rodriguez said.
Ralph Porras, an 84-year-old Army veteran, voted for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. The Democratic Porras supported Harris, not because he adores the current vice president, but because he distrusts Trump.
"I already know the kind of person he is," Porras said of Trump. "There's a lot of things he lies about."
Shelby Fleming voted for the Democrat in every race. Fleming supported Harris because "she's for the middle class. She wasn't born rich."
The 27-year-old Fleming hopes to soon buy her first home, so she applauded Harris' plan for first-time buyers.
"First-time buyers get [ $25,000 ]. That's not a lot, but it's more than past years," Fleming said.
Senate Race
Former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) meets Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D) in the race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D).
Though Kennedy swooned over Trump, she was less bullish on Hogan. Kennedy begrudgingly voted for the "flimsy-flamsy" Hogan despite his frequent anti-Trump stances.
"I hope he grows a pair if he gets elected," Kennedy said. "I don't like that he doesn't stand up for President Trump. He cares more about his reputation."
Rodriguez similarly voted for Hogan, but he was less critical.
"Not a lot of people are with Trump. [Hogan]'s got good points," Rodriguez said. "I don't know much about him, but I know just enough."
Porras opted for Alsobrooks. He thought Hogan's tax cuts for retirees didn't go far enough to make Maryland more affordable for retired residents.
"He wants to be senator? Over my dead body," Porras said , calling Alsobrooks "something better than Hogan."
Fleming was scared away from Hogan because of the debate over his abortion stance. Hogan said he personally opposes abortion but promised to protect abortion access. He vowed to push for pro-choice legislation, and he opposes a national abortion ban.
"Larry Hogan is kind of a tricky one," Fleming said. "He's pro-abortion and kind of against it, so with that, I just voted for that [Democratic] party."
. On the other hand, we have a felon."
Aqeel considered voting for Hogan, but his campaign never answered his request for more information on the candidate's platform. Aqeel instead opted for Libertarian Mike Scott in the Senate race because he feels more understood by third parties.
"Their values align with my values," Aqeel said, urging the U.S. to instead focus on its domestic problems. "We're wasting tons of money."
U.S. House Contest
All eight of Maryland's seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are up for grabs. Maryland will have at least three new faces in the House.
Congressmen C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-District 2) and John Sarbanes (D-District 3) are both retiring and chose not to seek re-election. Rep. David Trone (D-District 6) ran for U.S. Senate but lost the primary to Alsobrooks, freeing his House seat.
In Congressional District 2, Perry Hall voters had to decide between Democratic Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski, Republican challenger Kim Klacik and Libertarian Jasen Joseph Wunder.
Kennedy backed Klacik.
Klacik, a Black woman, soared to national attention in 2020 behind a viral campaign ad entitled "Black Lives Don't Matter To Democrats." The video spotlighted Baltimore's crumbling infrastructure and gun violence. She argued that Democrats have failed the city for decades and urged Black residents to vote for Republicans.
The ad, which has nearly 1 million views on YouTube, drew an endorsement from Trump in her 7th District race. Klacik lost two elections to former NAACP leader Kweisi Mfume (D) after Democratic Congressman Elijah Cummings died, opening up the seat representing Baltimore. Klacik is running again, this time in the 2nd District.
"She's awesome. She's feisty," Kennedy said, recalling Klacik's ad. "She loves Baltimore ... Baltimore needs help."
Rodriguez disapproves of Olszewski's performance as county executive, so he's voting for Klacik.
"I've seen Johnny O and what he's running for, and I'm not with him," Rodriguez said.
Olszewski has come under fire in recent months after reports that his administration made secret pension payments to the brother of the county executive's friend. The state GOP called for Olszewski's immediate resignation, while County Council Republicans instead asked for an investigation before jumping to conclusions. Olszewski denied any wrongdoing, however, and said he plans to continue serving as county executive and running for the U.S. House.
"I don't particularly like Johnny Olszewski," Douglas said. "He's another guy that's looking out for himself. He's done things that I don't think are in the best interest of the community."
Olszewski's record of funding parks and schools has earned him some name recognition, however, winning him Democratic votes in the primarily liberal district.
"He's been the candidate before, and [I] just kind of stuck with the option there: Democrat," Fleming said.
"I think the number that we have is good enough. We don't need extra parties on it."
The council expansion push was spearheaded by Democrats, but Porras sees it as a power grab. He pointed to larger districts that have fewer representatives.
"They can't run it with less?" Porras questioned. "I wasn't born yesterday."
Aqeel agreed with that logic.
"I don't see the need to increase when other counties have the same number of council members," Aqeel said. "I would prefer to have this money put in other projects."
Fleming, on the other hand, favored expansion.
"The more opinions, the better. It couldn't hurt," she said.
Douglas voted for expansin to break up the "clique-ish group" of "top-heavy" current council members.
"An additional two members would make it a little more balanced one way or the other," Douglas said. "I don't like party line voting."
