PRIMARY from Page 1 “To my Democratic party: you cannot show up in churches before Election Day. You cannot sing the first and last verse of ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing.’ You cannot join hands and walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge (in Selma, Alabama) and call that preservation and inclusion,” she said to a rousing applause among her supporters that included state Sen. C. Anthony Muse (D-District 26) of Fort Washington. “Today, Maryland is on the verge of having an all-male delegation in a so-called progressive state. So what I want to know from my Democratic party is (where are) the voices of people of color? Time for us to have a seat at the table.” Emily’ List President Stephanie Schriock released a statement shortly after Edwards’ speech. The national women’s organization donated millions to the Edwards campaign. “We’ve changed the conversation. It’s unconscionable that there are zero Black women in the Senate – it hurts our national dialogue and our policies,” Schriock said. There are more opportunities to change this in 2016, and Donna’s campaign has helped to make the case that this goal is a critical part of the
progressive movement.” Prince George’s County NAACP President Bob Ross, who attended the rally for Edwards, said: “I support her. I love her. We are going to send a message in 2018.” Meanwhile, Van Hollen, also 57 from Kensington, Montgomery County, received an ovation shown on social media from his supporters at the Marriott Hotel in Bethesda. Van Hollen received endorsements from top lawmakers such as Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett and state Sen. Joanne Benson (D-District 24) of Landover. Kathy Szeliga won in the Republican primary to challenge Van Hollen in the general election in November, but he’ll be favored in the heavily-Democratic state to replace the retiring Sen. Barbara Mikulski. Voter turnout on Tuesday showed distinct numbers at various polling sites in Prince George’s County. Each are broken down when election officials posted figures around 6 p.m. • Cedar Heights Community Center in Capitol Heights: 279 Democrats, eight Republicans; • John H. Bayne Elementary in Capitol Heights: 732 Democrats, nine Republicans;
• St. Mary the Assumption School in Upper Marlboro: 674 Democrats, 41 Republicans. According to unofficial early voting numbers, more than 257,000 people voted statewide with about 38,370 from Prince George’s County, the third highest figure behind Montgomery and Baltimore counties. In comparison, nearly 22,000 Prince Georgians went to the polls early in June 2014, an increase of almost 16,370, or 74 percent, for this year. Results showed Edwards received more than two times the votes in Prince George’s and voters mentioned the historical significance of a Black woman in the Senate. “There is a lot of first and this is a historical election. It is a really exciting time in history,” said Dwight Shanklin of District Heights after he voted at John H. Bayne Elementary School in Capitol Heights. “The candidates are now representative of the landscape we have in this country. Donna Edwards exemplifies that.” Since the candidates held their first debate March 18, the race grew increasingly nasty with both using the president’s image in television ads to criticize one another. Edwards’ ad accused Van Hollen
5 Maryland 4th Congressional district candidate Glenn Ivey greets Stan Hoyer before delivering his concession speech during the election watch at Busboys and Poets in Hyattsville on Tuesday, April 26. / Photo by Roy Lewis 4 Rep. Donna Edwards, who has represented the 4th Congressional district since 2008, gave a stern concession speech at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 26 building on Tuesday, April 26 in Lanham after losing in the Democratic primary race for Senate. / Photo by Patricia Little
of making a deal with the National Rifle Association in 2010 to encourage Republicans and some conservative Democrats to allow passage of campaign finance reform. A White House official jumped in and asked the political action committee that created the ad on behalf of Edwards to remove it immediately. Then Van Hollen used the same image of the president in a commercial that criticized Edwards, asking if she would “say anything to win an election?” However, no one from the White House asked Van Hollen to take down his ad. Usually Maryland doesn’t attract much attention and celebrity fanfare during the primary election season. It did this year. Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton attended a rally April 10 in Baltimore and thanked three prominent lawmakers who stood on stage with her: Sens. Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin and Rep. Elijah Cummings of Baltimore. She also named other state officials for their work for Marylanders that included Van Hollen.
4TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT In a more cordial, but crowded field for Congress, former Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown de288410_6_x_6.5.indd 1
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feated his five challengers to win the Democratic primary in a region that includes portions of Prince George’s and Anne Arundel counties. According to unofficial results, Brown received 43,000 votes. Former Prince George’s State’s Attorney Glenn Ivey came in second with 35,484 and state Delegate Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D-District 21) came in third with more than 19,500 votes. Brown will go against George McDermott of Forest Heights, who received more than 10,000 votes in the Republican primary. In a statement, Brown thanked supporters and his opponents to challenge the Republican establishment. “There’s so much more at state with Republicans looking to turn back the clock on President Obama’s progress,” he said. “Now is the time to come together to ensure we keep this state blue in November and continue to fight for better opportunities for Maryland families.” WI
4/21/16 10:22 AM
THE WASHINGTON INFORMER
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