The race for Maryland's 6th congressional district seat appears to be a tossup, making it the most competitive U.S. House race in the state. A fiery forum spotlighted the divide between candidates on immigration, the economy, and abortion rights. The race takes center stage this week, with Democrat April McClain Delaney and Republican Neil Parrott each got behind the mic and made their pitch to voters.

On the show Friday, they put forward different priorities on things like gun control.

On Politics Hour with Kojo Nnamdi Friday, McClain Delaney said she’d support tougher restrictions.

“Common sense gun legislation, I think, includes bans on military assault weapons and universal background checks. And with so many spiraling depression, mental health, anxiety issues, red flag laws," said Delaney. Congress banned assault weapons in 1994, but the ban lapsed a decade later.

Republican Neil Parrot, however, says he would not vote for a ban.

“We have a second amendment. We need to make sure people have the right to bear arms. Of course, they need to be reasonable.. which we have, so I think we are okay there.”

When it comes to curbing gun violence, Parrott said he’d prefer to find quote “other solutions.”.

Virginia's 7th congressional district race is also tight, with Republican Derrick Anderson and Democrat Eugene Vindman vying to replace Rep. Abigail Spanberger, who's running for governor. Last week, Vindman joined the show, and now, it was Anderson's turn to discuss his campaign with Kojo and Tom. We will talked about his military service, congressional control, and reproductive rights.

He restated his position on abortion.

"I do not support a national ban. I support IVF and I do support over the counter contraceptives," Anderson said.

When asked, he would not say whether he would support a federal law protecting abortion. Anderson says the issue should be left to states to decide.

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Kojo and a panel of local reporters took your comments and answered your election-related questions on-air during our primetime call-in special.

We discussed races across Maryland, D.C., and Virginia, as well as how the outcome of the presidential race might affect our region.

There were questions about the close Maryland Senate race. And how Initiative 83 and ranked choice voting might impact future elections in the District. We also discussed how the presidential race could affect the tens of thousands of federal workers across the region.

Teo Armus from the Washington Post, Sam P.K. Collins from the Washington Informer, and Maryland Matters' Will Ford joined Kojo to answer your calls, emails, and messages.

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The closely watched Maryland Senate race remains tight. Tens of millions of dollars continue to pour into the race as each candidate looks to hammer home their message with voters. Democratic candidate Angela Alsobrooks cites the danger of the race giving Republicans control of the U.S. Senate. Republican candidate Larry Hogan wants to convince voters he’s a moderate who will pick country over party. Democratic candidate Angela Alsobrooks joined us to discuss where the race stands now and what she would bring to the role.

Eyes are also on Virginia’s 7th congressional district race, where Democrat Eugene Vindman and Republican Derrick Anderson are in a tight race for the seat to replace Abigail Spanberger, who is running for governor. The future of federal workers, abortion rights, and the economy are among the top issues in the race. Democratic candidate Eugene Vindman joined the show to make his pitch to voters.

In D.C., the most intense political fight coming into November 5 is over a ballot initiative that would bring ranked choice voting and semi-open primaries to the District. Alex Koma of the Washington City Paper explained why Initiative 83 has become so divisive.

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Approximately 70% of Metro bus riders do not pay their fare. Metro General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke joins to the show to weigh in on why so many people are not paying and how the agency is adapting.

Metro is also considering dramatically changing its funding model. We ask Clarke what it might mean and how it could lead a more financially healthy transportation system.

By the end of the year, Metro will begin a return to self-driving trains 15 years after a fatal Red Line crash. Clarke explains why they are making this move now and what it might mean for your morning commute.

Plus, Clarke talks crime, the Circulator, ridership, and a potentially looming financial crisis.

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The D.C. Council approved emergency legislation this week tightening rules around its emergency rental assistance program that also rolls back some pandemic-era renter protections and making it easier to evict people who aren’t paying their rent. Councilmembers say they did it to prevent catastrophe.It's a move tenant advocates are criticizing. At-Large D.C. Councilmember Christina Henderson sat down with Kojo and Tom to discussed why the council gave the green light to the measure.

Under the new rules, residents will no longer be able to self-certify their eligibility for the city’s Emergency Rental Protection Program. She said hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid rent are leaving landlords who provide affordable housing unable to pay their building’s underlying mortgages. T

"We would have a bigger housing crisis on our hands if we saw a number of our housing providers go out of business," Henderson said.

Plus, she provided insight into what the city is doing to help laid-off Circulator employees, as well as the latest with the council's investigation into Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White.

Like other local jurisdictions, Montgomery County is also weighing controversial zoning changes in an effort to ease the housing crisis. District 6 Montgomery County Councilmember Natali Fani-González weighed in on a proposal the county executive is calling "misleading."

She said the county executive's concerns such a plan would just add more market-rate units rather than affordable homes are valid, but also premature. There's currently no legislation on the table for the Council to consider, only a series of options recommended by the Planning Board.

Fani-González did say the Council will have a role if and when any zoning changes do get approved.

“If we are talking about duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, the government is going to have to step in to make sure some of those units are affordable for people," the councilmember said.

Plus, Fani-González addressed what the county is doing to protect schools and houses of worship as the number of antisemitic incidents continues to rise.

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Early voting is underway in Virginia, including for a number of tight races in Northern Virginia that could determine congressional control. The chairs of Virginia’s Republican and Democratic parties – Rich Anderson and Susan Swecker – joined us to talk about the biggest races, why the Commonwealth could be up for grabs in November’s presidential race, and the most important issues facing residents.

The Maryland Senate race remains close between Democrat and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks and former governor Larry Hogan, despite being a deeply blue state. Maryland Matters reporter Will Ford gave us the state of the race, including how Alsobrooks’ property tax errors might affect the race. Plus, what might come of a lawsuit Maryland filed against the owners of the ship that smashed into the Key Bridge earlier this year.

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Violent crime rates in the District have dropped by more than a third compared to this time last year. We asked the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves about the reasons driving this drop. Plus, he talked about the ongoing investigation into the bribery allegations against D.C. Councilmember Trayon White and the U.S. Attorney’s role in police-officer-involved shootings, like the one that took place earlier this month.

We also asked about his office’s responsibility when it comes to going after dangerous drivers. The STEER Act goes into effect next month and is aimed at stopping reckless drivers. But tougher new laws may not mean criminal prosecutions for traffic fatalities. U.S. Attorney Graves said there’s a high standard for charging someone criminally in a traffic fatality.

“What you need to prove in a criminal prosecution is that not only the person was reckless that they knew or should have known when they were engaging in the act that they were either likely to kill someone or seriously hurt them,” he said.

In most cases, this standard is not met, Graves said, and called the majority of traffic fatalities a “tragic mistake.”

Friday marks the first day of early voting in Virginia. WAMU’s Northern Virginia reporter Margaret Barthel joins us from the polls in Prince William County. Plus, the latest in the competitive congressional races in Northern Virginia.

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Another federal government shutdown could be looming. The impact on this region would be huge. But U.S. Senator Tim Kaine told Kojo and Tom he doesn't think there's going to be a shutdown, at least this year.

"My prediction is this: We are going to get a short term continuing resolution as we usually do through the end of the calendar year. And between election day and Christmas, essentially, we will hammer out an omnibus full year appropriations bill," the Virginia Senator said.

Plus, we got his take on this week's big presidential debate.

Recent polls have shown that Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks holds a slight lead over former governor Larry Hogan in the competitive Maryland Senate race. We asked the new UMBC Institute of Politics director and preeminent Maryland pollster, Mileah Kromer, for her thoughts on where the race stands now.

The D.C. Council heads back into session next week and will turn its focus to how to deal with Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White. He appeared in the court this week and pleaded not guilty to federal bribery charges.

The council is set to investigate the bribery allegations before deciding what further steps it might take against the ward eight councilmember, including possible expulsion.

Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau joined the show to give us her thoughts.

"We have a duty as a council to address these concerns because we hold elected officials to a higher standard," she said. "If he goes through the whole process with the feds and it turns out he hasn’t broken the law, I still think we are going to still have some things to say about our code of ethics."

Plus, she talked about revamping the city's troubled 911 call center. Her and others have introduced several pieces of legislation aimed at increasing the center's transparency and oversight. We also discussed the police body cam footage showing D.C. police officers fatally shooting a city violence interrupter.

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