FREDERICK COUNTY, MD - About half of Frederick County, Maryland residents will vote in the 8th congressional district for the first time.
Congressman Chris Van Hollen has held the seat since 2002. The Democrat thinks he's accomplished a lot in that time and says creating jobs is one of his biggest priorities.
"One of the things we pushed through recently was a small business lending bill to encourage more access to credit for small businesses," Van Hollen said.
Van Hollen wants to protect the Chesapeake Bay and work with farmers to prevent runoff. Another goal is to make sure our children are healthy.
"Most recently, I teamed up on a bipartisan bill to encourage pharmaceutical companies to develop more cures and treatments for childhood cancer," Van Hollen said.
Some other issues the Congressman thinks are important include schools and making sure transportation projects get funded.
Making sure students have enough money to go to college is another priority for Van Hollen. He wants to make sure people have a fair shot at climbing the stairs to success.
"One of my major accomplishments was in the area of education with respect to college student loans and making sure that more money went to students and less to the banks," Van Hollen said.
Van Hollen says there's clear differences between him and Republican Ken Timmerman, a challenger for the seat.
"Very high income earners should go back to paying the same amounts they were when President Clinton was president, which is the last time that we actually balanced our budgets and a time when we created over 20 million jobs," Van Hollen said.
Van Hollen's volunteers will remain hard at work with the election right around the corner when voters have the final say.
"With respect to Frederick County, I look forward to listening to the community leaders, to the small business owners, to the farmers, and working with them," Van Hollen said. "From my perspective, it doesn't matter if an idea comes from Republicans or Democrats."
Van Hollen served in the Maryland House of Delegates for four years and in the Maryland Senate for eight years.
