Last night at Paul’s Legacy Restaurant in Salisbury three Democratic candidates for Maryland’s 1^st Congressional District were given the opportunity to discuss their candidacy before local Democratic activists and voters. Wendy Rosen, Kim Letke and John La Ferla each spoke about why they were running for this office and answered questions about issues ranging from agriculture on the Eastern Shore to Foreign Policy.

Forums such as this give candidates a great opportunity to differentiate themselves on important issues. The differences between John La Ferla and Wendy Rosen cannot be more sharply defined than they were when a question was asked regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions and our nation’s place in curbing them. Wendy Rosen made it clear that her position was that she would support current administration policy to stop Iran from developing a nuclear arsenal at any cost. In comparison John La Ferla said that it was “presumptuous” and “paternalistic” for us to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons and that we should take Ahmedinijad at his word when he says that Iran is a peaceful nation with no militaristic ambitions.

In what was truly the start of a journey towards Election Day, not just in April but also in November, each candidate outlined why they were running and shared their vision for the future. In what will be a continued theme as the campaign continues, Wendy Rosen made an impassioned plea for the voters to send her to Washington as an advocate for revitalizing our economy. “I have spent my career helping to build small businesses and that is what we need to do today in order to save our economy,” she said.

Speaking with supporters on Thursday, Wendy said that “we live in a time of great uncertainty, economically and otherwise, and it is incredibly important that we send serious people to Congress who understands the economy, job creation, and the complexities of foreign policy to Congress.”