Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD) has received the endorsement of the powerful political action committee EMILY’s List in her bid for Sen. Barbara Mikulski’s (D-MD) Senate seat.
“Donna Edwards is a true progressive champion with an outstanding record of fighting for women and families in Congress,” EMILY’s List President Stephanie Schriock said in a statement on Thursday. “She is poised to make history as the second African-American woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate – the first in over two decades. In 1986, EMILY’s List helped Barbara Mikulski, our very first endorsed candidate, shatter a glass ceiling as the first Democratic woman elected to the Senate in her own right.”
The endorsement means Edwards will have backing from an influential outside group in her candidacy for Senate. Her biggest opponent so far in the primary is Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), who has a warchest of over $1.6 million.
Liberal outside groups have already rallied around Edwards, hoping to make her another firebrand in the mold of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). Even before Edwards jumped into the race, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and influential MoveOn.org began a Draft Edwards campaign.
