Incumbent Rep. John Sarbanes soundly defeated his two challengers in the race for Maryland's 3rd District on Tuesday.

"I am proud to serve the people of Maryland's 3rd Congressional District, and I thank them for choosing me as their representative in Congress," Sarbanes said. "I will work hard to put the public interest ahead of special interests."

The Towson Democrat grabbed 67 percent of the vote while his Republican challenger Eric Knowles earned 29 percent and Libertarian Paul Drgos received 3 percent as of 11:50 p.m. on Tuesday.

Knowles, who lives in Annapolis, failed to win his home county of Anne Arundel by more than 12,000 votes.

Drgos said he was pleased with his modest showing.

"We had a total of three volunteers, spent less than $1,000 and raised less than $200," Drgos said. "Myself and the rest of the Libertarian Party will forge onwards."

Sarbanes looked ahead as well.

At a Democratic party in Baltimore, he said his focus will be not on the 113th Congress, but on the next six weeks.

At the end of 2012, a series of significant tax hikes and spending cuts are set to be enacted, which most legislators refer to as a fiscal cliff.

Sarbanes said, "We got to get to work pretty quick on some kind of plan that avoids the most drastic consequences."

North Baltimore Patch editor Adam Bednar contributed to this story.