Nasty Dem primary in Maryland Senate race shakes Capitol

The White House and prominent national Democrats have weighed in on behalf of Van Hollen, even as Edwards backers insist that her opportunity to become just the second black female U.S. senator in history must not be denied.

[...] the contest contains echoes of the Democratic presidential primary between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, as Edwards and Van Hollen present similarly progressive agendas, wrapped in dramatically different approaches to politics.

Van Hollen is running as a pragmatic deal-maker in a Congress where compromise is increasingly a dirty word, an approach that's opened him to attacks that he can't be trusted to protect core Democratic programs like Social Security.

Retiring five-term Democratic Sen. Barbara Mikulski is the longest-serving female senator in history, an admired progressive who's often referred to as the Dean of the Senate's 20 female members.

Because of Maryland's Democratic tilt, whichever lawmaker wins April 26 will be heavily favored to triumph in the November general election and become Mikulski's successor.

To the dismay of Van Hollen supporters, the pro-women political group Emily's List and its connected super PAC have spent millions on Edwards' behalf, evening what might otherwise have been a significant financial advantage for Van Hollen.

[...] Edwards announced her candidacy, riling some fellow Democrats who've since gone public to denounce her and claim constituents and even fellow lawmakers can't get a hearing from her.