Leonardtown, MD — With the longest-serving woman in the history of the United States Congress, U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski retiring after five terms in the Senate, the primary is wide open, although so far the list of official candidates is relatively short.  There’s still plenty of time. The deadline for filing candidacy for the Apr. 26 primary is Feb. 3. So far four Democrats, two Republicans and two unaffiliated candidates have filed. None of them are well known.

Two announced Democrats and presumed front runners, Reps. Donna Edwards (D – 4th District) and Chris Van Hollen (D – 8th District) have not yet filed. Edwards is from Prince George’s County and Van Hollen is from Montgomery County.

Van Hollen (show at left and above)made an early swing through Southern Maryland on Sunday, Aug. 23 with receptions at the homes of Barbara and Jim Bershon in Leonardtown and Ed and Sue Apple in Prince Frederick.

The event at the waterfront Bershorn home on Breton Bay was co-hosted by Linda and Mike Colina, Martha and Bill Jones and Susan Messitte. Mrs. Bershon said she and her husband endorsed Van Hollen because, “He exhibits great ability to lead and communicate.”

Before the candidate addressed the assembled guests, The BayNet asked Van Hollen how he as a Democrat would get those disaffected party members who switched to vote for Larry Hogan for governor last year. Van Hollen said that would be done by focusing on the issues and taking them to the voters. He said he is not just focusing on the urban areas, noting he had just visited the Eastern Shore and was in Southern Maryland all day.

Those issues that he stressed in his stump speech are core democratic issues, as befitting a candidate who has risen in the ranks of his party and was past chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Among the issues are a steadfast support of the Affordable Care Act, additional gun control measures, including universal background checks (such as Maryland has), climate change and protecting the Chesapeake Bay, campaign finance controls, and of course education.

Van Hollen says he has a history of bipartisanship that goes back to his time in the Maryland General Assembly before being elected to Congress in 2003. He mentioned the bill that killed oil drilling in the Chesapeake Bay as an example.

Van Hollen said as a member of Congress he has not just worked on issues affecting his home district in suburban DC, but also the whole state. He mentioned support for the Southern Maryland Higher Education Center and St. Mary’s College of Maryland, both of which had representatives at the reception. “I believe the reason for my broad support is that I work on issues not just in the 8th District,” he said.

Regarding the polarization in Washington, Van Hollen said, “I believe in the end of the day what people care about is delivering results.” He said he always looks for “opportunities for common ground,” although he said he would remain steadfast to those core Democratic principles. For example on the universal background checks, he said, “I believe we will prevail on this issue.”

On education, he said, “We need a world class education system,” and that extended from early childhood education to higher education. He touted his role in advancing the Thornton Commission education initiatives when he was in the Maryland General Assembly and decried the Hogan Administration’s raid on that commission’s education funding formula.

Regarding higher education, he said it needed to do a better job of developing student skills that match employer needs. “Jobs and wages will be at the center of the campaign going forward,” he added.

During a question and answer session, St. Mary’s County Democratic Central Committee member Mike Brown asked Van Hollen if he had read all of the Iran agreement. He said he had and that he supports it. The issue will be front and center when Congress convenes next month from summer recess. He predicted Congress would overturn the agreement and the President vetoing that and then the issue is whether there are enough votes to overturn the veto.

About the agreement, Van Hollen asked “the major issue is – what’s the alternative/” He said the agreement won’t “change the nature of the Iran regime” but he said there are many parts of it that are in the best interest of the United States.

Attendees at the reception included former commissioner presidents Jack Russell and Julie Randall.

Democrats who have filed so far for the U.S. Senate race are Ralph Jaffe of Baltimore County, Violet Staley of Prince George’s County, Ed Tinus of Worcester County and Lih Young of Montgomery County. Republican candidates are Richard Douglas of Prince George’s County and Anthony Seda of Harford County. The Unaffiliated are Greg Dorsey of Baltimore and Edward Shlikas of Baltimore County. The Unaffiliated will only be on the general election ballot.

A names of a number of high profile Republican candidates have been bandied about by prognosticators, such as former governor Robert Ehrlich and former lieutenant governor Michael Steele, although there has been no official announcement from either of them so far.

Contact Dick Myers at dick.myers@thebaynet.com