Rep. Chris Van Hollen has won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Maryland.
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Democratic Rep. Donna Edwards is also running for Mikulski’s seat, leaving her seat open in the 4th Congressional District. Barbara Mikulski for 30 years, including a Democratic contest that has become a polarizing battle over race and gender.
The 8th Congressional District, which has been held by Van Hollen since 2003, is rich with candidates, both in the number of people running and in record fundraising.
Van Hollen ran on his record as a pragmatic progressive who is able to reach across the political aisle to get things done.
Van Hollen’s campaign put out its own list last week of 100 African-American women leaders in the state who are backing his candidacy over Edwards.
On the Republican side, as of 9:50 p.m., Szeliga had 69,368 votes, with her closest competitor, Chris Chaffee, at 28,751 votes, and Chrys Kefalas in third with 18,848 voters. Rep. Chris Van Hollen hit the streets, shaking hands, while Rep. Donna Edwards took to the airwaves to make her pitch.
The critics said the ad misrepresented a deal Van Hollen had to make to gain support for the bill that would strengthen campaign regulations after the Citizens United Supreme Court decision.
Asked about the prospect of Maryland’s first all-male congressional delegation since Mikulski’s election in 1986, Van Hollen said he has worked to elect people of all backgrounds and has support from female and African American elected officials.
In a field of nine Democratic candidates, Mr. Raskin won the House nomination with 33.7 percent of the vote.
Her husband, Peter Ettinger, chimes in that he once had a passport emergency and when he called Edwards’s office – Silver Spring used to be in her district – he got no help.
Brown will face Republican George McDermott in November for the chance to fill Edwards’ House seat and represent parts of Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties.
The seat is now held by Van Hollen.
Edwards ran to the left of Van Hollen, touting her uncompromising dedication to liberal ideals.
Recent polls have Van Hollen ahead by an average of 10 points, and the results of today’s primary could be shaped by voter demographics.
The contrast between Van Hollen and Edwards split Maryland voters and provided a tight race until the final weeks before the primary.
“It’s a new day – time for new leadership”, she said.
Montgomery County attorney Dan Cox won the Republican primary for the House seat, collecting 44.8 percent of the vote. “Maryland’s Senate race reflects the national shift in the center of gravity that’s taking place in the Democratic Party – with Democratic leaders competing to be bold on economic populism issues and carry the progressive mantle”.
Backed by most Democratic lawmakers in Maryland, Van Hollen says he’s ready to see what happens tonight.
The loser of Maryland’s most heated Democratic primary race was a no-show at the party’s unity rally Thursday, following a contest that revealed racial and gender divisions among Democrats. Several Maryland Democrats pointed to that advertisement, and the swift backlash from many in the party, including the White House, as the race’s turning point. She has also picked up the approval of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Emily’s List, a group that helps elect Democratic women to office. “I think women have a harder time raising money, and I think African-American women have a double whammy”.
Edwards, a black single mother, tells The Hill that her unique perspective is needed in the Senate – where she would be the first black woman to serve in almost 20 years.
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“There was a lot of nostalgia there – remembering how I started”, she said. Evans, who has been a State Representative since 1981, is the first serious primary challenger Fattah has faced since he entered Congress in 1995.
