Expect Plenty Of Politics In Maryland This Cycle

Maryland State Senator Jamie Raskin

Everyone is looking at the scramble among Maryland Democrats to replace Barbara Mikulski in the U.S. Senate. But do you recall what happened when a bunch of House incumbents in Georgia found out that Saxby Chambliss had decided to retire from the Senate? 7 Republican congressmen started rumbling over the seat. In the end Tom Price, Rob Woodall, Lynn Westmoreland and Austin Scott decided-- wisely-- to back away. But Paul Bround, Phil Gingrey and Jack Kingston gave up their totally safe House seats to go for the Senate. In the primary Kingston came in second with 24.8% of the vote against right-wing businessman David Perdue (30.64%) and Gingrey and Broun came in 4th and 5th, with 10.03% and 9.63% pf the vote respectively. In the runoff, Perdue narrowly beat Kingston, who-- along with Broun and Gingrey-- no longer has a House set.

Milkulski's impending departure has almost all the House Dems looking at the race. Chris Van Hollen, who Pelosi was counting on as a non-conservative leader of the House Dems and eventual Speaker, was the first to jump in. Today Donna Edwards, easily the most progressive Member of the Maryland delegation officially declared her candidacy today. Also considering runs are progressive Reps John Sarbanes (whose father Paul was once in the Senate) and Elijah Cummings and two more conservative Members, Military Industrial Complex shill Dutch Ruppersberger and multimillionaire New Dem John Delaney-- who nearly lost his own House seating November, scarping out a bare 91,569 (49.6%) to 89,300 (48.4%) win against ex-Secret Service agent Dan Bongino.

You can contribute to Donna's campaign here.

But if all these congressmembers actually do run for the Senate seat, there are going to be some very hot congressional races. Since Van Hollen jumped in last week, the race race to succeed him is already starting to firm up. Montgomery County Delegate Kumar Barve, the first Indian-American elected to a state legislature, where, until this year he was the chamber's majority leader (since 2003), was the first to declare his candidacy.

Other Democrats likely to jump in include two accomplished liberal state senators from Montgomery County, Jamie Raskin and Richard Madaleno Jr., Delegate Ana Sol Gutierrez, former Montgomery school board and council member Valerie Ervin, former state delegate candidate Will Jawando, former Montgomery school board and council member Valerie Ervin, and MSNBC host Chris Matthews wife Kathleen, who is an executive for the most anti-worker of all the big hotel chains, Marriott.

Now, with Donna Edwards' candidacy public, expect to see plenty of local electeds jumping into that race as well. Let's make sure we get someone more like Donna and not like Al Wynn. Take a look at Donna's campaign announcement video released a few hours ago-- "The corporate special interests are going to come at me with all their money but if you'll join me in this fight, there's no way we can't win."-- and consider contributing what you can to her campaign.