On the 8th of November, Maryland residents lined up at polling stations to vote in the midterm elections which would choose the next Governor, amendments to the constitution, senators, congressmen, and more. Many of these decisions will have effects inhabitants of Maryland.

Other than the change of a new Governor being elected, a senator was also elected/reelected, along with congressman and other government officials. One in particular is Senator Chris Van Hollen Jr. This wouldn’t be his first rodeo either, he was originally elected for Senator back in 2016 and ran for reelection this year.

On his campaign for reelection, Van Hollen promised to “deliver for Marylanders,” help those who have been affected by the pandemic, build a “stronger, more inclusive economy with more shared prosperity,” “ensure universal access to affordable health care,” and more. 

In the healthcare department, Van Hollen “has worked tirelessly to defend the Affordable Care Act” and works towards decreasing overall costs for health matters such as prescription drugs and health care. Along with that he would like to “end health disparities that mostly impact women and minorities.” One example of which is codifying protections that existed under Roe V. Wade. He was actually one of the first cosponsors of the Women’s Health Protection Act. 

He also tends to be quite a vocal person and in one such case in recent times he is fighting for the Biden administration to hold Israel more accountable for their actions. There had been a murder of a Palestinian-American journalist by the name of Shireen Abu Akleh and Van Hollen and many others have put up the pressure to get the White House to review this case as stated by Ben Samuels on Haaretz. Although still not much has happened Van Hollen, has proven to fight for the American people tooth and nail.

Hopefully, Van Hollen can continue to live up to the statements he’s made and still make choices that are in the best interest of Maryland as well as ones that reflect the thoughts of residents.