6th Congressional District Democratic & Republican Candidates Weigh In On Immigration // Read Their Views

The Gazette's by Katherine Heerbrandt has a great round-up of all of the 6th Congressional District candidates views on immigration. Hat tip to anti-immigrant group Help Save Maryland (BLECH!) for flagging the article. We excerpt the candidate statements below, but check out the full article at The Gazette:

ROBIN FICKER: Del. Kathy Afzali on Ballot TWICE (in CD6 and CD8) // Tea Partier Joe Krysztoforski Ties Rep. Bartlett in Poll

Last week, Maryland Juice noted that Statehouse member Kathy Afzali was making splashes with her entry into the 6th Congressional District Republican Primary. She immediately invoked scandals involving State Senator David Brinkley and declared that incumbent Rep. Roscoe Bartlett could not win re-election. Today Ms. Afzali's competitor, anti-tax activist and former Delegate Robin Ficker declared that she was not a serious candidate:

ROBIN FICKER: Afzali filed as a Romney Delegate to the Republican Convention on 11/16 and is still listed as such on the Maryland Board of Elections website.  She is not a serious candidate in Maryland 6th!

After a little bit of investigation, Maryland Juice has verified Mr. Ficker's claims: Del. Kathy Afzali will be appearing on the April Republican Primary ballot twice! She is running in the CD6 Primary for Congress and she is running in CD8 as an RNC Delegate for Mitt Romney's Presidential campaign:

Joseph Krysztoforski Wins CD6 GOP Poll? - Meanwhile, a reader informs us that the self-proclaimed Tea Party candidate in the CD6 race Joseph Krysztoforski has nearly beaten Rep. Roscoe Bartlett in an online poll on the Frederick County GOP website:

CD6 MEGAJUICE: Bombs Drop in Maryland's 6th Congressional District // Round-Up of DEM & GOP Campaign Tactics

WARNING: THIS IS AN OMNIBUS ROUNDUP OF CAMPAIGN TACTICS

Multiple campaigns are now in full swing in Maryland's 6th Congressional District, as incumbent Rep. Roscoe Bartlett faces serious challenges in both the April Republican Primary and the November General Election. The opening salvos from many of the candidates in both parties have been downright aggressive.

Below Maryland Juice prints a quick roundup of recent activities (both positive and negative) from the campaign trail. We begin with candidates in this April's Republican Primary and end with a discussion of the race between Democrats Rob Garagiola and John Delaney. 

Note: We do not highlight every candidate below, but you can see the full roster of hopefuls at Maryland Juice's U.S. House Candidate List. Make sure to read through to the end of this post, because we discuss some interesting new tactics emerging in the Democratic Primary. Without further ado, below is a splattering of CD6 juice:

6th District Republican Primary Roundup

Del. Kathy Afzali Uses Happy Marriage as Campaign Asset

JUICE #1: Delegate Kathy Afzali - I must start this roundup with a discussion of Republican lawmaker Kathy Afzali of Middletown, Maryland. She entered the race with a bang by jumping in on the eve of the filing deadline and immediately declaring that neither Rep. Roscoe Bartlett nor State Senator David Brinkley could win the General Election. The Gazette's Katherine Heerbrandt, printed the following comments from Ms. Afzali:

"I don't think they [Bartlett and Brinkley] can win against a Democratic challenger from Montgomery County. I can win...."

“Some of the candidates have personal issues that the Dems are going to use to the maximum. ... It could be an ugly and dangerous race,” Afzali said. “... Anyone running for election is going to be scrutinized. ... As for my personal life, I am pretty clean.”

Brinkley's affair with a staffer in 2008 and subsequent divorce may play a part in the election, but according to Don Murphy, a former state delegate and Brinkley's campaign chairman, that battle has been fought and won.

Indeed, Maryland Juice sources have in the past pointed us to news coverage of Mr. Brinkley's scandal noted above, including a Baltimore Sun article that discusses his claim that his wife used HIS hands to "hit herself in the face." The 2008 Sun article danced around the affair that led to the altercation: