By Stella Canino, Lillian Glaros and Pera Onal

Thousands of Prince George’s County residents headed to the polls Tuesday to vote for a new county executive in a special primary election.

Eight Democrats and three Republicans are running to win their party’s nomination to fill the position after Angela Alsobrooks resigned following her U.S. Senate race victory last fall. Tara Jackson, the county’s former chief administrative officer, serves as the acting county executive.

More than 1,200 county residents arrived at the College Park City Hall polling location to vote during early voting and on Election Day. Voters considered a wide variety of issues when casting their votes, including education, transportation and senior citizen care.

Upper Marlboro resident Arlene Spann voted Aisha Braveboy for county executive after seeing Braveboy’s work as Prince George’s County’s state’s attorney. As a senior resident, Spann said she appreciates Braveboy’s advocacy for older community members.

“I was looking for someone who is for the people,” said Spann, who has lived in Prince George’s County for about 35 years. “I’ve seen her out in the community, and I love anything that someone is doing for senior citizens.”

[2025 special election: Live updates on the Prince George’s County Executive race]

She hopes whichever candidate is elected will focus on unifying the community to resolve the county’s budget deficit.

Sam Meyer and Sommer Berg, who are both Hyattsville residents, voted for Braveboy because of her endorsement from Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.

With a son entering kindergarten at a public school later this year, Berg said it was important to her and Meyer that they vote for a candidate in favor of increased funding for education.

Meyer also noted that they appreciate Braveboy’s support for housing affordability, more housing options and loosened development regulations.

Sam Glover, a Greenbelt resident who’s lived in the county since 2011, cast his vote for Rushern Baker III on Tuesday because of his administrative experience. Baker previously served as Prince George’s County Executive from 2010 to 2018.

Glover said it’s crucial that the next county executive be able to handle the impacts of the federal government.

“It’s kind of an important position, in particular, given the treasonous vandalism that is emanating from our national government,” said Glover, a retired federal public servant.

[2025 special election: Live updates on the Prince George’s County Council District 5 race]

County resident Sarah Moseley voted for state Sen. Alonzo Washington (D-Prince George’s) as county executive because of his education policies, specifically integrating more technology into the classroom.

She hopes the county prioritizes smaller class sizes for students and better opportunities for high school graduates who aren’t ready to attend college.

Elizabeth McMahon, who has lived in Prince George’s County for three years, said she decided to vote on Tuesday because of the importance of local elections.

“I care a lot about local elections,” said McMahon, who works in marketing at the University of Maryland business school. “A lot of the things that we think about in our day to day life is more affected by local politics than things that get more attention nationally.”

McMahon said she cares about how firefighters are distributed around the county, the Purple Line and redevelopment on Route 1.

The winners of the Republican and Democratic primaries will face off in a special general election on June 3.