Maryland congressman Chris Van Hollen won the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Democrat Barbara Mikulski on Tuesday in a polarizing battle over race and gender. The White House and prominent national Democrats have weighed in on behalf of Van Hollen, even as Edwards backers insist that her opportunity to become just the second black female USA senator in history must not be denied.Van Hollen and Edwards both represent House districts that include the suburbs of the nation’s capital.Edwards netted more than 62,000 votes between the three localities she won but that wasn’t enough to even make up her 89,000-vote deficit from Montgomery County alone.The Van Hollen campaign endorsed the decision.Donna Edwards, a black Congresswoman in Maryland, is locked in a tight Senate race with fellow Congressman Chris Van Hollen.
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(AP) – Rep. Chris Van Hollen has won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Maryland.
In today’s election, Edwards faces off against Rep. Chris Van Hollen, a congressman from Maryland’s 8th district. But Edwards allies honed in on one vote, on the DISCLOSE Act, to accuse Van Hollen of cutting a deal with the NRA. Van Hollen took 53 percent of the vote to Edwards’ 38 percent, a weaker margin than Clinton’s 63 percent (to Sanders’ 33 percent), but still a significant victory. Registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans 2-to-1 in Maryland. On the Democratic side, at that time, Van Hollen had 214,353 votes and Rep. Donna Edwards had 161,286 votes.
On Tuesday, the Edwards campaign filed a court complaint and was able to keep four precincts that opened late in Baltimore open for an extra hour after polls in the state closed. They are running against former prosecutor Elizabeth Embry and activist DeRay Mckesson, who rose to fame through his involvement in the Black Lives Matter movement.
“Governor Hogan’s successes and support in Maryland, including with Democrats, prove that Marylanders like the change he’s bringing to our state, and they will support a candidate, like me, who will bring that same real change to Washington”, Szeliga said in her victory speech.
Those who endorsed him, he said, can speak for themselves: “They want somebody with a track record of delivering real results”.
REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland: Who do you think is responsible for generating all those profits? Supporters say she would provide a much-needed voice for the the nation’s 10 million single mothers, who are frequently the subject of political debate. Barbara Mikulski’s seat. A poll late in the race showed Van Hollen with a double-digit lead. And now when she calls Edwards’ office for service “nobody even returns my call”. She’s found few legislative allies during her almost eight years in the House.
Throwing a curve in the race, pro-women political group Emily’s List spent $3.4 million supporting Edwards. But in order to effectively address these issues, Democrats will need to win both the White House and a majority in the Senate, he said.
State Sen. Catherine Pugh won Baltimore’s Democratic mayoral primary, denying former mayor Sheila Dixon a comeback from an embezzlement conviction that forced her to resign in 2010.
Edwards, D-Fort Washington, has been a member of the U.S. House of Representatives since 2008, representing Maryland’s 4th district, comprising portions of Prince George’s and Anne Arundel counties.
Trump’s poor showing with female general election voters “is going to have a huge impact on not only the race for president with Hillary Clinton, but for all of our races”, said Jessica O’Connell, executive director of Emily’s List. But in the end, they say, the contest for the Senate “is not about race, gender, creed or color”.
Jane Raymond, a 57-year-old health care administrator, said she voted for Trump.
Van Hollen argues he’s been more effective and done a better job serving all his constituents.
Maryland will elect a senator in the November 8 general election.
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Edwards received few endorsements from her colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus.
