SEVERNA PARK, Md. — At 8’oclock on a January evening, a longtime Republican Party volunteer, grandmother of seven and 26-year National Christian choir member set out to file to run for U.S. Congress.
The deadline to sign the papers was 9 p.m.
Faith Loudon had decided that if no one else in her party challenged Democratic incumbent Donna Edwards in Maryland’s 4th District, it would have to be her. The 4th District is mainly composed of Ann Arundel County, which contains Annapolis and borders the Chesapeake Bay, and Prince George’s County directly outside of Washington, DC.
“I had knots in my stomach,” she said. “But I’m not intimidated by many people.”
A genteel woman in her early 70s, Loudon said she felt “called” to the role after redistricting positioned her town in Ann Arundel County under the representation of Edwards.
“Women in politics are motivated by just doing something, and being passionate about an issue, and there’s a lot at stake socially this election,” said Barbara Palmer, professor of political science at Baldwin Wallace University and author of “Women and Congressional Elections: A Century of Change.”
Loudon fits the mold of a particular type of candidate – the people across the country who take on incumbents with only a sliver of a chance to win.
“I think she probably believes that no one should get a free ride to get re-elected to Congress,” said Paul Herrnson, professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland.
Loudon said she knows her chances in Prince George’s County, where she is not well known, are slim. But the pep in her voice only got stronger when she discussed her campaigning there.
“I love a challenge. My opponent talks about how the government will solve the job issues, but what we really need is to build business,” she said.
Loudon is also campaigning strongly against Edwards’ on “moral issues.” She pointed out that Edwards is both pro-choice and a supporter of same-sex marriage.
Edwards did not return a request for comment on her campaign.
According to the Federal Election Commission, Edwards has raised almost 10 times more money than Loudon. Loudon has not received funding from the Republican National Committee.
Edwards, as of her last reporting to the FEC in June, has raised more than $650,000. Loudon’s last reporting to FEC was in September and she has raised about $70,000.
“It’s a very big uphill battle,” said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women in Politics at Rutgers University, of races like Loudon’s. “The reality is, it’s not that the party is thwarting them, but they only have X amount of dollars and their goal is the make the House a majority,”
Wanda Murray, a Loudon campaign volunteer and friend of the candidate since the two were 14 years old, says that no matter the outcome of the election, she knows one thing about her friend.
“Even if she doesn’t win, she’ll keep finding people who can serve their country for the values she believes in,” Murray said.