Failed Md. gubernatorial candidate wins primary for Donna Edwards seat

Former Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown made a comeback Tuesday night, winning the Democratic primary to replace outgoing Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.).

Brown disappointed national Democrats when he lost the 2014 gubernatorial race in the deeply Democratic state to Republican Larry Hogan, a contest many had expected to be an easy win in an otherwise GOP wave year.

But the better-known Brown prevailed in a crowded six-way primary on Tuesday despite lagging behind his rivals in fundraising.

{mosads}Brown will be favored to win the general election in the Prince George’s County-area district that’s considered safely Democratic.

Edwards opted not to run for reelection this cycle in order to run for the Senate seat vacated by retiring Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.).

She lost the Senate Democratic primary to fellow Rep. Chris Van Hollen earlier Tuesday night and will not be returning to Congress next year.

Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk and former state’s attorney, Glenn Ivey, were Brown’s biggest rivals in this year’s primary.

Peña-Melnyk won endorsements from The Washington Post as well as influential women’s and Hispanic advocacy groups such as the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’s political action committee and EMILY’s List.

Ivey, meanwhile, led the pack in fundraising. The most recent reports filed with the Federal Election Commission showed that Ivey raised just more than $1 million. Peña-Melnyk raised about $800,000 in donations, while Brown raked in just $616,000.

In the other open Maryland House race Tuesday night, state Sen. Jamie Raskin won the Democratic primary in the Montgomery County-area district to replace Van Hollen. Raskin prevailed over Kathleen Matthews, a former news anchor who is married to MSNBC host Chris Matthews, as well as Total Wine founder David Trone, who spent a record $12 million of his own money.