The Hill reports that after Sen. Barbara Mikulski’s retirement, the race to replace the Democrat is already on.
Sen. Barbara Mikulski’s (D-Md.) surprise retirement announcement Monday sets off a mad scramble among Maryland Democrats for the wide-open contest.
“It will be a complete unleashing of decades of built-up bottlenecking in the Maryland political system,” predicted Andrew Platt, a Democratic strategist who’s worked in the state.
National Journal also summarizes the mayhem well:
Maryland Democrats have about 12 months to accomplish something they put off for nearly 30 years: finding a logical successor to Barbara Mikulski.
The longtime senator’s sudden and unexpected announcement Monday that she would retire has the party bracing for a chaotic primary to replace her, with up to a dozen candidates seriously considering a bid and no obvious front-runner to anoint.
The field is starting to take shape, but it’s still an absolute scrum. Two of the leading candidates so far reveal the chasm developing between Democrats:
– U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, Jr. (D-Md.)
Harry Reid just endorsed Van Hollen, which caused a stir. Buzzfeed reports that Democratic activist Steve Phillips blasted Reid for not endorsing a minority candidate:
“For Harry Reid to come out and endorse Van Hollen is insulting period,” said Steve Phillips, the founder of the progressive group PowerPAC+. … “But to do it on the anniversary of the Selma 50th anniversary — to make an endorsement that would make the Senate less diverse — is outrageous and insulting.”
– U.S. Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.)
The Baltimore Sun reports that Edwards has just entered the contest:
Rep. Donna F. Edwards announced Tuesday that she will run for Senate, jumping into a still undefined race to replace retiring Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski. … Edwards announced her plans in a two-minute video that went live Tuesday morning.
Politico also lists the other possible candidates:
A slew of other Democrats are considering bids, including Reps. John Delaney, John Sarbanes, Dutch Ruppersberger and Elijah Cummings. Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is also mulling the race, as is Heather Mizeur, a former state delegate who finished third in the gubernatorial primary last year. Former Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, who hasn’t been on a ballot since 2002, is giving thought to jumping in. And former NAACP President Ben Jealous is also considering a run, The New York Times reported Friday.
The Hill predicts that this primary will quickly become snarky and negative.
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“It’s going to be a nasty, nasty primary,” one Democratic state legislator told The Hill. “When you have primaries with people that have such similar voting records, it usually comes down to character attacks.”
With this kind of free-for-all, Maryland could now be in play for Republicans.