College Park resident Richard Douglas’ campaign for U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin’s seat hasn’t been easy, he said Tuesday morning as he walked from his home in Berwyn to Paint Branch Elementary School.

But then again, he didn’t expect it to be.

“It gives you a real sense of responsibility when somebody sends you a little check … because that little check tells you people are relying on you,” he said. “It can be a really moving experience to see that.”

Douglas is one of 10 Republican candidates vying for candidacy in November’s general election to challenge Cardin. According to year-end campaign financial reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, Douglas raised more than $63,000 to Republican challenger's Daniel Bongino's $130,000.

Douglas said it was one particularly high-pressure week last August that convinced him to run for Senate. Citizens were demanding a fix to the deficit problem, and the Taliban shot down a helicopter in Afghanistan, killing 25 American SEALs, he said.

“And how did our Congress respond? They recessed and went on vacation,” Douglas said.

A shortened version of the interview is published here on Patch.

Robert Baird of Capital News Service contributed to this report.