KUAM News: https://www.kuam.com/story/344736234/moylan-limtiaco-gear-up-for-congressional-face-off-in-november
A key race to watch this November will be the fight to represent Guam in the nation’s capitol. As federal decisions continue to impact the island in real time, voters will be keeping their eye on the congressional candidates in the next three months leading up to the general election. Those candidates are now gearing-up to face-off this fall.
While most of the attention on primary election night was on the huge upset in the gubernatorial race for Adelup, a quieter race was taking place for a seat in Congress. Incumbent James Moylan won the primary against challenger Mary Camacho Torres in the congressional race, according to unofficial results from the Guam Election Commission. Moylan received 4,928 votes, or 60.10% of GOP support, winning by a significant margin of 20.36% over his opponent.
Meanwhile, Torres received 3,258 votes (39.74%) of the votes under the republican ticket.
"I feel very humbled and extremely grateful to our community who votes they want me back in confidence and strongly with 60 percent of the voters making the win for us. That took a lot for us to make sure our team was together, to make sure the people of Guam agreed with my job in congress. But at the same time, I want to congratulate my opponent Senator Torres for a well fought campaign. I’m sure her team put in a lot of effort, and so did she, too," Moylan told KUAM News.
The sitting delegate will now go head-to-head with democratic pick Alicia Garrido Limtiaco in the November 3 general election. Candidate Limtiaco ran uncontested in her party and received 9,876 (99.18%) of the votes.
Limtiaco thanks all those who participated in the democratic process and everyone who believed in her. She said, "Your trust is the greatest honor that could be given. I do accept it with the utmost humility, gratitude and a renewed commitment to the people of Guam and to ensure that I advocate for and fight for our priorities."
"I’m very excited," she added. "I look forward to continuing to remain grounded with our community, to continue our outreach, and to listen."
Limtiaco brings her experience as the first woman elected as Guam’s attorney general and the first woman appointed as US Attorney for Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Meanwhile, it was Delegate Moylan’s first primary win against a republican challenger, who despite a hard fought campaign, was unable to unseat him.
In her concession statement, Torres thanked her supporters and volunteers while congratulating the incumbent, adding, "My commitment to guam did not begin with this campaign, and it will not end tonight. I will continue standing up for our families, speaking honestly about the challenges we face, and working to move our island forward.”
In the meantime, the candidates moving forward are now gearing-up for the busy campaign ahead. Moylan says now is the time for the GOP to come together to bring a republican back in Congress.
"I think our team has done an excellent job with constituents here on Guam, from passport issues, social security issues to veteran issues, which is really a majority of our constituent base that really needs help," he explained. "And we want to continue that to assist so I’m looking forward to November’s general election. I’m looking forward to face my opponent. I’m sure at the end of the day, we both want what’s good for Guam, we’ll shake hands and we’ll get right back to serving our island."
Limtiaco keeping her eye on similar concerns from constituents while hoping Guam flips their pick to Congress blue. "I want to continue to use these experiences, my background and training to address the various issues and critical concerns our community have shared with me. Whether we are talking about ensuring fairness with our community under federal law, whether it is supplemental security income, whether its ensuring our veterans receive quality accessible healthcare, whether our survivors in Guam deserve the compensation they so deserve under RECA. These are examples of fairness under federal law that our community is entitled to," he said.
Limtiaco shared, "They must be a true partner and any investments made in this buildup alignment need to be true investments in our community, and that includes our infrastructure in all sectors."
Moylan is seeking a third term, while Limtiaco is a newcomer making her first bid for Congress.