Elaine Belson
Elaine Belson (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Maryland's 5th Congressional District. She did not appear on the ballot for the Democratic primary on July 19, 2022.
Belson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Elaine Belson was born in Washington, D.C. She served in the U.S. Army from 2008 to 2010. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1987. She earned a graduate degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore in 1993. Her career experience includes working as a clinical social worker.[1]
Elections
2022
See also: Maryland's 5th Congressional District election, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. House Maryland District 5
Incumbent Steny Hoyer defeated Chris Palombi in the general election for U.S. House Maryland District 5 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Steny Hoyer (D) | 65.9 | 182,478 |
 | Chris Palombi (R) | 33.9 | 94,000 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 442 | ||
| Total votes: 276,920 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 5
Incumbent Steny Hoyer defeated Mckayla Wilkes and Keith Washington in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Maryland District 5 on July 19, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Steny Hoyer | 71.3 | 68,729 |
 | Mckayla Wilkes | 19.1 | 18,403 | |
 | Keith Washington | 9.6 | 9,222 | |
| Total votes: 96,354 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Elaine Belson (D)
- Colin Byrd (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 5
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Maryland District 5 on July 19, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Chris Palombi | 67.5 | 24,423 |
| Vanessa Marie Hoffman | 9.8 | 3,538 | ||
| Tannis Villanova | 6.8 | 2,445 | ||
 | Michael Lemon | 5.0 | 1,818 | |
| Toni Jarboe-Duley | 4.4 | 1,578 | ||
| Patrick Stevens | 3.7 | 1,344 | ||
| Bryan Duval Cubero | 2.8 | 1,024 | ||
| Total votes: 36,170 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Elaine Belson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Belson's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- "It's time for new voices and fresh ideas in Congress." Steny Hoyer has been in Congress for 41years. Meanwhile, congressional gridlock has only gotten worse. As a clinical social worker, I have unique communication and problem-solve skills to help restore bipartisanship.
- "It's time to bring mental health into the mainstream conversation." Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people. Death from drug overdose rose 30% in 2021. Domestic violence hotlines receive 20K calls a day. In 2019, 764K students ages 12-14 reported being victimized at school.
- It's time to stand up to big donors and lobbyists in Washington. Steny Hoyer spent $4.3 million on his last campaign, most of it from special interests. In a democracy, people shouldn't be allowed to use power to stay in power.
VOTING RIGHTS: 19 states have enacted 33 laws making it harder for POC to vote. Some swing states are restricting ballot access and making it lawful for electors to overturn results. While these measures are challenged in state houses and courts, Congress must pass the two voting rights bills before it's too late!
EDUCATION: We need a mental health curriculum. This isn't just an academic issue, it’s about safety. Teachers need training to handle behavioral problems and school-based social services to engage parents. I support college tuition reimbursement but we must also address tuition inflation.
HEALTHCARE: As a provider, I support universal healthcare and some features of Medicare for All (reproductive health, rug price negotiation, better access for underserved communities). However, I don't support a single-payer plan.
POLICE REFORM: Along with POC, the rate of domestic violence among officers is 15% higher than the national average. Rehabilitation must treat the effects of perpetual exposure to trauma and provide de-escalation training. Specialized team, not law enforcement, should respond to mental health calls.
How we govern as a country and function as a society is inextricably linked to how we think, feel, communicate, and problem-solve. I know my knowledge and skills as a social worker could fundamentally change this country. An army commander once told me, "You don't know what you don't know." That's why I'm running: to empower the country to know what I know.
Whether the issue is reproductive health, gun control, voting rights or vaccine mandates, we keep going about it the same way: arguing, finger-pointing, demonizing, competing. No matter how logical your argument, how many facts you present, how emotional your pleas or how often you repeat yourself, you can’t talk people into changing. News reports, books, op-eds, panel discussions, speeches and social media rants don’t either. The evidence is all around them!
I have an expression, "You can win the battle but lose the war." Lawmakers have become so dependent on winning as a means of governing, there’s barely a distinction. As both parties rely on conquering over compromise, is it any wonder that money has increasingly corrupted the process and voters are abandoning both parties? The mistrust and resentment in Congress is so bad, they're barely functioning. And its the American people who are most hurt by this. The point is, changing the power differential will never be enough.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on January 9, 2022.
