Heather Curtis
WASHINGTON (WMAL) — Long-time Sen. Barbara Mikulski’s retirement could pave the way for an all-male congressional delegation in Maryland. That provides a necessary opening for underdog Republican candidate Kathy Szeliga in her race for Senate against Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen.
St. Mary’s College Political Analyst Todd Eberly told WMAL’s Mornings on the Mall Wednesday that Republicans in the state don’t often get that kind of opening, and it wouldn’t be a bad idea for her to play the gender card.
“As the country may be poised to elect its first female president, the idea of an all-male congressional delegation from Maryland just seems so 1950s,” Eberly said.
He added a congressional delegation with eight white men and two African American men doesn’t represent the diversity of the state.
Meanwhile, we may not have heard the last from Van Hollen’s Democratic opponent in Tuesday’s primary. After the results were in, Rep. Donna Edwards told supporters her work isn’t done, and she offered harsh words to her party’s leadership.
“To my Democratic party, you can not show up in churches before election day, you can’t sing the first and last verse of Lift Every Voice and Sing, you can’t join hands and walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge and call that post-racial inclusion,” Edwards told an enthusiastic crowd.
Eberly said if Edwards continues to speak out against sexism and racism in the Democratic party, she could create a political division that isn’t there now, potentially creating problems for Van Hollen going forward. .
Hoping to avoid further conflict after a nasty race, the Maryland Democratic Party will hold a rally Thursday to unify party members.
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