Former Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Glenn Ivey plans to challenge U.S. Rep. Donna Edwards in Maryland’s reshaped 4th Congressional District. He will file the paperwork for his candidacy in the next few days, according to Ramon Korionoff, whom Ivey recently hired as a media specialist.
“He’s going full speed ahead, and he’s laying all the groundwork to run for Congress,” Korionoff said. “Glenn Ivey is a leader the people respect, and the timing is right.”
The district encompasses much of Prince George’s County, but now extends to much of Anne Arundel County and removes Montgomery County, potentially leaving Edwards open to an upset in her bid for re-election.
Edwards was critical of Gov. Martin O’Malley’s redistricting map, saying it divided black and Hispanic voters in Montgomery County. Now Edwards, like any new candidate running in the district, must introduce herself to new voters outside of the counties she has represented for the last three years.
Ivey considered running against Edwards two years ago, when he formed an exploratory committee looking into a bid for Congress, but decided against it. At the time he also was rumored to be a strong candidate to replace outgoing Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson.
Now a partner at Venable LLP, Ivey has strong ties to Capitol Hill. He served as counsel to former U.S. Sen. Paul Sarbanes, D-Md., on the Senate Whitewater Committee during the Clinton administration. He also once served as chief counsel to former Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., who at the time was Senate majority leader.
The 4th District field also may include Anne Arundel Councilman Jamie Benoit, who has formed an exploratory committee to consider running against Edwards.
Democrats and Republicans alike have criticized O’Malley’s redrawn congressional district map, particularly Montgomery County’s portion. Part of the liberal county has been moved into Western Maryland’s 6th District, where Rep. Roscoe Bartlett — one of only two Republican congressional representatives from the state — has served for 10 terms.
Three challengers already have announced their intentions to run against Bartlett in the reshaped district, which now stretches from Garrett, Allegany and Washington counties in Western Maryland to northern and western Montgomery County: state Sen. Rob Garagiola, D-Montgomery County, former Montgomery County Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg and Montgomery County activist Robin Ficker.
