No Wall Street Cash for My Senate Campaign, says Rep. Donna Edwards

Rep. Donna Edwards speaking at the AFGE 2015 Legislative Conference. (Photo: AFGE/flickr/cc)

No Wall Street Cash for My Senate Campaign, says Rep. Donna Edwards

Email blast from Maryland legislator calls on other candidates for Mikulski's seat to 'reject contributions from Wall Street banks like Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Bank of America'

Rep. Donna Edwards, who's running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), pledged on Thursday not to take Wall Street money for her campaign.

In an email sent to supporters Thursday by the Howard Dean-founded Democracy for America, Edwards states:

I will not accept any donations from Wall Street banks in my campaign for Maryland's open U.S. Senate seat. I am calling on all candidates in this race to stand with me in rejecting contributions from Wall Street banks like Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Bank of America.

I am running for the Senate so I can join Elizabeth Warren and other strong progressive leaders in the fight against Wall Street. I don't want Wall Street's money. I don't work for them. I work for you.

Edwards, the first member of the House to introduce an amendment to overturn Citizens United, and a vocal critic of the Iraq war, has also gotten support from the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.

The Washington Postreported last month she "won reelection in Maryland's 4th District -- which includes Prince George's County and part of Anne Arundel County -- three times while building a reputation as a protector of liberal values. Her vigorous advocacy has, at times, put her at odds with more moderate elements of the party."

The other Democratic candidate vying for the Senate seat held by the longest-serving woman in the U.S. Congress is Rep. Chris Van Hollen.

George Zornick writes at The Nation that if Van Hollen "refuses to agree to the pledge [to reject Wall Street contribtions], it could give Edwards a powerful rhetorical weapon in the campaign, and help her paint Van Hollen as too close to Wall Street."

The Hillreported last week that Van Hollen's "campaign will file a report with the Federal Election Commission later this month showing it raised nearly $1.2 million in the first quarter and ended with more than $2.5 million cash on hand," Edwards, the paper continues, "will likely begin her campaign at a significant fundraising disadvantage, as FEC filings show she ended 2014 with only $30,000 in her campaign account."

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