Rep. Chris Van Hollen won the Maryland Democratic Senate primary on Tuesday, beating out fellow Democratic Rep. Donna Edwards for a chance to fill long-serving Sen. Barbara Mikulski’s seat.
Going in to the primary, Van Hollen led Edwards by more than 10 points in the statewide polling average and earned the endorsements of many of the state’s top politicians, including former Gov. Martin O’Malley.
Van Hollen currently represents Maryland’s 8th District in congress and based his campaign out of Montgomery County, whereas Edwards represents Prince George’s County in Congress.
The winner of the Democratic primary will be heavily favored to win the Senate seat in November.
Edwards is African-American while Van Hollen is white. Black voters have helped Democrats win numerous Maryland elections, but have not been well represented among the party’s statewide general election candidates. Van Hollen and Edwards are liberals who agree on most issues.
According to voters at a Bethesda polling site, Van Hollen is the most familiar candidate, and thus the most trustworthy.
“Van Hollen is a great guy, he’s done a great job for us. He’s by far the most qualified candidate,” Maryland Democrat Scott Libby told the Washington Examiner. “Edwards is nowhere near close to same ballpark as Van Hollen is in terms of experience, capability. Its nothing against her, I just know Chris really well.”
