Two progressive groups formally launched an effort on Thursday to draft Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.) to run for the open Senate seat in Maryland in 2016.
Democracy For America and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee surveyed their members this week and said the overwhelming response in favor of Edwards has led them to recruit her for the race.
{mosads}“In 2008, DFA helped Donna become the first African American woman to represent Maryland in Congress because she has a strong progressive vision for an economy that works for everyone,” Charles Chamberlain, the executive director of the DFA, said in an email to supporters. “Rep. Donna Edwards is the perfect fit to follow in Sen. Mikulski’s footsteps which is why progressives are rallying to draft her into the race.”
The DFA and PCCC each have more than 1 million members nationwide and a combined 35,000 in Maryland alone.
On Wednesday, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) became the first Democratic candidate to officially get into the race to replace retiring Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.).
Van Hollen, the ranking member on the Budget Committee and former chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, has long been eyeing the Senate and appears to be well-positioned among his House colleagues with a $1.7 million war chest.
But Democrats could be facing a bruising primary. Nearly every Democratic member of the Maryland House delegation – including Edwards – told The Hill on Wednesday they’re strongly considering a run for Senate.
“Multiple good candidates may enter the race,” Carrie Biggs-Adams, a union representative for Communications Workers of America, says in the PCCC email. “I’m proud to stand with the PCCC, Democracy for America, Blue America, and many Maryland progressives who want Donna to be one of them she’s a rising progressive star, and I’m ready to work my heart out for her.”
The DFA and PCCC believe they have an up-and-coming progressive winner in Edwards, who defeated a long-time Democrat in a primary in 2008. They cite her proposal to amend the constitution to overturn Citizens United, her efforts to call attention to domestic violence and equal pay for women, and her commitment to supporting entitlement programs, as evidence of her liberal bona fides.
Edwards, an African-American, is also a fresh face for the party and will be the last remaining woman from the Maryland Democratic delegation once Mikulski retires.
Edwards told The Hill on Wednesday she won’t be scared off by other members of her delegation potentially getting into the race.
“We have to have somebody who is a voice for the state who captures the imagination and enthusiasm and innovation that Marylanders have and I’m willing to make that case to people,” she said. “So give me a couple of days or so and I’ll figure it out.”
In addition to Van Hollen and Edwards, Democrats are mentioning nearly every top name in national and state politics. Reps. John Delaney, Dutch Ruppersberger, Elijah Cummings and John Sarbanes also told The Hill they’re considering Senate runs.
Former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a member of the powerful Kennedy family, also signaled her interest on Wednesday. Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Labor Secretary Tom Perez and former Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown have also been mentioned as potentially interested in seeking the nomination.