Steve Hudson

BROOKEVILLE - Republican Steve Hudson thinks he can unseat Chris Van Hollen in November, but former Gov. Bob Ehrlich (R-Baltimore) predicts it may take Hudson a few more cycles to become a more formidable opponent.

Ehrlich praised Hudson and called him a serious candidate, but said he suffers from a lack of name recognition.

"It may take a cycle or two in a district like this to get well known. He's not well known right now. And that's obviously a function of money," said Ehrlich in an interview with PolitickerMD.com. "There is no other strategy."

Hudson seemed enthused about Ehrlich's appearance at his Wednesday reception, but his views on a potential November victory strayed from the former Governor.

"Now the reason why we can win is because Congress has such a low approval rating right now," Hudson told PolitickerMD.com. "I haven't seen Congress do anything in their term...What have they done?"

DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen says he's busy now, but might debate Republican Steve Hudson in the fall
Republican Steve Hudson wants to debate his opponent in the eighth district congressional race, but that won't happen anytime soon.  U.S. Rep. Christopher Van Hollen (D-Kensington) says he's busy being a Congressman, but said he might consider debating in the fall.

"Right now I'm very focused on my duties in Congress. We've got a lot of legislation to pass," Van Hollen told PolitickerMD.com while attending a Democratic fundraiser in Baltimore last night. "At some point in the fall we may be able to do something like that."

Hudson sent an e-mail to Van Hollen on Wednesday asking for a series of debates or joint town hall meetings. 

Republican Steve Hudson, who is running for Congress in Maryland’s 8th Congressional District, reported $9,484 contributions in the second quarter and $3,500.02 cash on hand according to Federal Elections Commission reports.

Hudson has received $21,275.97 in contributions to date for this election.

Hudson, an ophthalmologist, is challenging U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Kensington), who also serves as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Records for Van Hollen were unavailable.

As the filing deadline approaches for second quarter campaign fundraising reports, PolitickerMD.com has reported totals as the numbers have become available. Below are links to our complete coverage, broken down by races.

MD-1:

• Kratovil raises $350K in 2Q, $450K cash on hand
• Harris raises $430K in 2Q, $600K cash on hand

MD-7:

• Cummings reports $700K in cash on hand

MD-8:

• Hudson reports 3.5K cash on hand

Republican Steve Hudson, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Kensington) in Maryland’s 8th Congressional District, reported raising $16,680 in the second quarter and loaning his campaign another $21,000.

Hudson, though, is still short on cash. According to FEC reports, the campaign has $3,500 cash on hand and $10,000-worth of debt.

Van Hollen, the chairman of the DCCC, has not reported his second quarter numbers yet.

The state Republican Party is criticizing U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Kensington) for being one of the top “porkers” in the U.S. House.

An analysis conducted by the Citizens Against Government Waste, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit group, determined Van Hollen was the second of the “top three porkers” in the U.S. House.