Today on Midday, another edition of our election-year series, Conversations with the Candidates, 2022.

In the race for Governor, Democrats nominated Wes Moore, a popular author and non-profit executive, making his first run for public office. Republicans voted for Dan Cox, an election denier and acolyte of Donald Trump. Mr. Moore is heavily favored to win, but at a unity rally in Silver Spring on Monday, Democrats vowed not to take anything for granted, and to run vigorous campaigns up and down the ballot.

Mr. Moore and Del. Cox will not be the only candidates on the ballot. There are five registered parties in Maryland. In addition to Democrats and Republicans, Libertarians, Green Party and Working Class candidates may appear on general election ballots, along with Independents. This year, the Green Party has nominated Nancy Wallace, a lawyer and environmentalist. The working class candidate is David Harding, who ran unsuccessfully for Baltimore Mayor in 2020. An independent named Kyle Sefcik will be on the ballot as well.

The Libertarian Party of Maryland's candidate is David Lashar, who is Tom's guest today.

David Lashar is an IT executive who served for as the Chief Information Officer at the MD Department of Health, where he later served as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff. His running mate is Christiana Logansmith, a Navy veteran and businesswoman. This is Mr. Lashar’s second try at public office. He ran as a Libertarian for Congress against John Sarbanes in 2018.

David Lashar is 59 years old. He holds a BA from Dartmouth College in Russian Studies and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University. He lives in Annapolis. He and his wife Margaret are the parents of a teenage daughter.

David Lashar joins us today in Studio A. 

 

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