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•MD-Sen, 04: On Tuesday, Rep. Donna Edwards officially kicked off her bid for the Democratic nomination to succeed retiring Sen. Barbara Mikulski. Edwards will face at least fellow Rep. Chris Van Hollen in the primary, but as you can see from dreaminonempty's visual guide above, a host of other Democratic politicians are thinking about jumping in as well. Edwards is the most liberal member of Maryland's House delegation and several national progressive groups are excited about her. But Edwards' first task will be to prove she can bring in enough money to compete with Van Hollen, who has a reputation as an excellent fundraiser.
Former Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, the party's 2014 gubernatorial nominee, has been looking at a Senate run, but he looks all-but-certain to defer to Edwards. Brown quickly put out a statement praising the congresswoman as "a leading voice of opposition to the extreme agenda of the Republicans in Congress," which is not something you say about someone you're thinking about running against. And sure enough, John Fritze of the Baltimore Sun tells us that Brown is considering seeking Edwards' safely blue 4th District, centered around Prince George's County in the D.C. suburbs.
Regardless of what Brown does, we can expect a crowded primary in MD-04. The Sun reports that former Prince George's County State's Attorney Glenn Ivey is likely to run here. Ivey actually tried to unseat Edwards in the 2012 primary, but dropped out just before the filing deadline after he decided that his campaign wasn't going anywhere. Ivey should have a better shot in an open seat race than he would have against an uncontroversial incumbent. This wouldn't be the first time the Ivey family has come into conflict with Brown: His wife, former Del. Jolene Ivey, was Doug Gansler's running mate during the 2014 gubernatorial primary.
There are several other Prince George's County Democrats who are going to look at this seat. The National Journal's Kimberly Railey great mentions county Councilors Derrick Davis and Andrea Harrison; Dels. Dereck Davis, Joseline Peña-Melnyk, and Jay Walker; and state Sen. C. Anthony Muse. Muse ran against Sen. Ben Cardin during the 2012 primary and lost 74-16 statewide. That year, Muse was also one of the most ardent opponents of same-sex marriage in the Democratic legislative caucus, and it would be a cruel irony if he took Edwards' seat.
Alexis Levinson at Roll Call gives us a few other potential names. Del. Michael Vaughn confirmed that he's looking at this seat, and former Del. Aisha Braveboy (who came in third in the 2014 attorney general primary) said back in January that she'd think about the House seat if it opened up. Some other Democrats who could make the race are current county State's Attorney Angela Alsobrooks and former county Councilor Ingrid Turner.
