Go Donna Go
by digby
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s endorsement of Rep. Chris Van Hollen in the Maryland Senate race last week was a sign that national Democrats hope to clear the field for Van Hollen, a seven-term congressman from Montgomery County who’s held posts in party leadership.
But it’s not likely to work — and Maryland could be the next example of the simmering divide between the Democratic establishment and liberals who would rather see Sen. Elizabeth Warren on the 2016 ticket than Hillary Clinton.
Progressive allies are increasingly convinced that Rep. Donna Edwards is about to enter the contest to succeed Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), who announced her retirement earlier this week. Two potential national allies of Edwards told POLITICO Campaign Pro they expect her to announce a Senate bid this week.
“I’m totally confident she’s serious and will run,” a national progressive activist said. “At this point, I would be surprised if she didn’t.”
Edwards’ campaign declined to confirm she’s entering the race but accelerated her timeline for a decision. “Congresswoman Edwards is seriously considering a run for the U.S. Senate and will make a decision in the coming days,” Edwards spokesman Ben Gerdes wrote in an e-mail last Friday.
There are a lot of good candidates in Maryland. But I’d really like to see us not lose any more female representation in the Senate if we could help it. (It seems like it’s always one step forward two steps back…) And Edwards has been a stalwart movement progressive from the beginning of her congressional career. We were there for her and she’s been there for us. She would be a really great Senator.
If you’d like to send a little token to let her know that you’d like her to run, Blue America was the first to call for a Draft Donna campaign. You can join that campaign here.
.