General Election

The following area candidates ran unopposed in Tuesday's general election: W.Va. delegate races: · 52nd District: Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, of Martinsburg, W.Va. · 54th District: Walter E. Duke, R-Berkeley, of Martinsburg. · 55th District: John Overington, D-Jefferson, of Kearneysville, W.Va. W.Va. Senate races: · 15th District: Walt Helmick, D-Pocanhontas/Morgan, of Marlinton, W.Va. Jeremy Donald Bauserman of Bartow, W.Va., filed as an official write-in candidate.

Absentee count makes primary election official By DAN KULIN dank@herald-mail.com Absentee ballots counted Thursday solidified the leads of the top five vote-getters in Hagerstown's Republican and Democratic primaries. Democratic council candidate N. Linn Hendershot and Republican council candidate Michael E. Nehring secured spots on the May general election ballots with fifth place finishes in their party's primaries. The absentee ballots could have knocked both candidates to sixth place in their primary races and off of the general election ballot.

By JULIE E. GREENE Staff Writer Former correctional officer Robert E. Bruchey II will face incumbent Steven T. Sager in the race for mayor of Hagerstown in the May general election, according to unofficial results of Tuesday's primary election. Bruchey, 38, of 905 Woodland Way, received 230 more votes than former city police officer Leon C. Fearnow to win the Republican nomination in Tuesday's GOP primary election. "I'm really happy that I've won," said Bruchey, who was at the election board office with his wife, Susan, when the results were announced Tuesday night.

County race at a glance Candidates for Washington County Commissioner have until July 6, 1998 to file at the Washington County Election Board, 33 W. Washington St. The primary election is Sept. 15 and the general election is Nov. 3. Candidates who have filed are: Sue Tuckwell, a Democrat. Albino J. Trujillo, a Republican. Timothy A. Bonds, a Republican. One candidate, Republican Clint Wiley, has prefiled, which allows him to raise money.

Washington County Commissioner candidate Bert Iseminger Jr. said he believes he has collected more than enough petition signatures to place his name as an Independent candidate on the November general election ballot. The process of certifying Iseminger's signatures could take up to three more weeks, according to an election official. Because Independent candidates do not run in primary elections, they must get a required number of signatures on a petition to have their names placed on the general election ballot.

U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., filed on Tuesday to run for a 10th two-year term in Congress. The filing period for the 2010 election opened Monday. Bartlett, 83, lives in Frederick County. He represents Maryland's 6th District, which includes Washington County. As of Wednesday, no other candidates had filed, according to the Maryland State Board of Election's Web site. Andrew Duck, a Democrat who twice ran unsuccessfully for Bartlett's seat, has said he's running again in 2010.

This month, The Herald-Mail is running a series of stories to help readers learn more about the three candidates for Maryland's 6th District seat in Congress and their positions. Today, we start with profiles of the candidates - Republican Roscoe Bartlett , the eight-term incumbent; Democrat Jennifer P. Dougherty ; and Libertarian Gary W. Hoover Sr . Next Monday, we'll have a story on their thoughts about energy and oil. The 6th District includes all of Garrett, Allegany, Washington, Frederick and Carroll counties, and part of Montgomery, Harford and Baltimore counties.

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) -- Democrat Jason Judd and Republican Randy McClement won their primaries to move on to the general election in the Frederick mayor's race. Turnout was light Tuesday as voters went to the polls for mayor and the Board of Aldermen. With all 12 of the city's precincts reporting, Judd had 59.7 percent of the Democratic vote and McClement had 72.5 of the vote. Results are unofficial. Judd is a union activist and an economist. McClement owns a downtown delicatessen.

A candidate forum held Thursday at Hagerstown Community College will be shown one more time on Antietam Cable Television before the Nov. 4 general election. It will air Monday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. on Antietam Cable's channel 19. The forum also will be available on Antietam Cable's video-on-demand starting Monday and at www.antpod.com later in the week week. The Herald-Mail Co., Antietam Cable and HCC worked together on the forum for candidates for Maryland's 6th District seat in Congress and for four seats on the Washington County Board of Education.

Republican Alfred W. Boyer filed Wednesday to run for one of the five Hagerstown City Council seats up for grabs in the May 20 general election. Boyer, of 1142 The Terrace, serves on the Hagerstown Planning Commission. Two other candidates had filed to run for City Council seats as of Wednesday - incumbent William M. Breichner and former Councilman Larry A. Vaughn. Both are Democrats. The deadline to file for a City Council seat or for the mayor's office is Friday, Jan. 24.