Incumbent Shadow Senator Michael D. Brown headed off a challenge from a well-financed opponent, winning the Democratic nomination in yesterday’s D.C. primary.

D.C. Shadow Senator Pete Ross was released from the D.C. Jail last night after spending six hours of a day-long sentence he requested behind bars.

Pete Ross, a candidate for the D.C. shadow senator seat, was sentenced to a day in jail today for blocking traffic during a December protest on Capitol Hill. But unlike most other such cases, Ross didn’t try to avoid jail time. In fact, he insisted upon being sent there.

Four D.C. voting rights protestors, including the organizer of a week-old hunger strike, were arrested on Capitol Hill during a rally against anti-abortion language in a federal budget resolution.

In the District, candidates for elected office spend time and money in the hopes of winning a position that comes with a paycheck, sometimes a hefty one. But for one candidate in the 2012 races, it seems that money’s no expense — and for a position that’s fully unpaid.