Rep. Chris Van Hollen wins hard-fought Democratic Senate primary in Maryland

Rep. Chris Van Hollen wins Maryland Democratic primary

(Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

published 27 April 2016

Reps. Chris Van Hollen and Donna Edwards, both 57-year-old Maryland Democrats representing districts outside Washington, D.C., fought a hard, sometimes bitter campaign to win the Democratic nomination for the Senate seat being vacated by Barbara A. Mikulski, the longest-serving woman in Senate history. Van Hollen won.

About half of Maryland's Democratic electorate was African American on Tuesday, and Van Hollen, who is white, won about a third of black voters while Edwards, a black single mother, won about 20 percent of white voters, according to exit polls. Race and gender both played a significant role in the primary, with Edwards noting that only one other black woman has ever served in the Senate and Emily's List spending about $2 million on ads supporting her. Van Hollen focused on his experience in the House, where he is known as a policy-infused dealmaker. Mikulski had stayed neutral in the race.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.