Rep. Donna Edwards, D-Fort Washington, received important in-state endorsements Wednesday morning in the race to replace retiring Sen. Barbara Mikulski.
Most of the Prince George’s County Council endorsed Edwards, including Chairman Mel Frankiln. The endorsements are the first major endorsements by elected officials in Maryland for Edwards.
But, unlike the other declared candidate in the race, Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Kensington, Edwards couldn’t secure the unanimous endorsement of her home county’s council.
Van Hollen, unanimously endorsed by the Montgomery County Council and County Executive Ike Leggett, has received endorsements in Prince George’s County from County Executive Rushern Baker and council member Deni Taveras.
Council member Todd Turner was not named among Edwards’ endorsers, according to reports from The Baltimore Sun and The Washington Post, and his office declined to say whether Turner has endorsed anyone in the race.
All of the other members of the council endorsed Edwards.
While she made gains in the endorsement race today, Edwards will have a larger hill to climb to keep up with Van Hollen’s fundraising prowess.
His campaign announced Wednesday that he raised more than $1.25 million in the first quarter of 2015, bringing his cash-on-hand total to more than $2.72 million dollars.
Last week Edwards announced that she had raised $335,000 over the same time period, bringing her cash on hand to more than $385,000.
