Former Democrat Rep. Donna Edwards Announces House Bid for Old Seat

FILE - In this Nov. 17, 2014, file photo, Rep. Donna Edwards, D-Md., speaks on Capitol Hil
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File
Jacob Bliss

Former Rep. Donna Edwards, who previously represented Maryland’s Fourth Congressional District for five terms, announced a bid for her old seat on Thursday.

Edwards is looking to take her seat back, which is now open after Rep. Anthony Brown (D-MD), the current representative, announced that he would run for Maryland attorney general. Edwards gave up running for a sixth term when she had an unsuccessful bid for the Senate in 2016, when she lost against then-Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

“The fact is, our congressional district no longer gets our fair share from Washington. We’ve got to fix that, and I will. And I’ll go back with more seniority than most of the people in that building,” she said in a video of her announcement. “That means clout to make sure our district has not just a seat at the table, but a seat at the front of the table where the decisions are made.”

However, there are other Democrats already campaigning for the seat. One Democrat, State Del. Jazz Lewis, who is looking for the Democrat nomination, secured a sizeable endorsement from House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) last November, meaning Edwards is starting at a disadvantage. 

Edwards’ announcement can also put some unwanted strain on the party as Democrats are fighting to keep their slimming majority in the House. Democrats have already seen 28 members choose not to seek election, whether because they are retiring from the public eye or because they are running for a different office, such as Brown.

The former congresswoman said, “We’ve got a lot of work to do to get our country out of this pandemic and back on track,” while also noting that if elected, she would “make the wealthy finally pay their fair share so we can start bringing down the cost of living for our families.”

The Washington Post reported there is currently only one Republican running in the election, Jeff Warner, to flip the vacant seat from blue to red in the midterms.

Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter.

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