John Matthews
WMAL.com
BETHESDA — (WMAL) A battle of the establishment will decide who succeeds Barbara Mikulski in the United States Senate.
Longtime 8th District Congressman Chris Van Hollen pulled away from 4th District Congresswoman Donna Edwards Tuesday to win the Democratic party nomination by a 53 – 39 percent margin.
Van Hollen, who picked up the majority of major endorsements in the campaign, was able to win the identity politics challenge offered by Edwards, who was seeking to become the first black woman to represent Maryland in the Senate.
While Edwards won the black-majority Baltimore City, Van Hollen virtually swept the rest of the state to win the election handily.
Van Hollen will face Del. Kathy Szeliga in November. Szeliga, the House Minority Whip from Baltimore County, was the only elected official running in a 14-person Republican field, picking up 36 percent of the vote.
Szeliga easily beat her closest competitor, Chris Chaffee, who had the advantage of having his name first on the alphabetical ballot. Chaffee picked up nearly 14 percent of the vote, while every other candidate finished in the single digits.
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