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Hillary Clinton unveils more than 70 Md. endorsements

Baltimore Sun |

WASHINGTON -- Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign announced endorsements Tuesday of more than 70 officials and community leaders in Maryland -- including most of the state's congressional delegation -- underscoring the sway the former secretary of state holds even in the home territory of a rival.

The list of Marylanders backing Clinton's campaign and joining her state leadership team included four statewide elected officials, the president of the state Senate, Thomas V. Mike Miller, two dozen members of the General Assembly and a similar number of community leaders, former elected officials and local politicians.

Many of them have also worked with former Gov. Martin O'Malley, who announced his own presidential campaign in May after completing his second term this year. Despite aggressive campaigning and solid performances in the first Democratic debates, O'Malley has been unable to climb out of single digits in polling.

"Over the last six years under President Obama, our country has seen tremendous progress and we can't go backwards -- that’s why we need Hillary Clinton as our next President," Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski said in a statement that made no mention of O'Malley – a longtime ally.

"Hillary has the experience and vision to continue moving our country forward," she added.

Many of the Democrats on Clinton's list, including Mikulski, Sen. Ben Cardin and Rep. Steny Hoyer, had already publicly stated their support for Clinton, and have been working for her in the state. Others, like Rep. Donna Edwards of Prince George's County, have frequently promoted her campaign without explicitly offering their support.

Edwards is running for the Senate seat that will be left open in 2017 by Mikulski's retirement. Her opponent in that race, Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Montgomery County, has previously said that he is a Clinton supporter.

Other lawmakers on the list include Reps. John Delaney, who was previously a fundraiser for the Clintons, C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger and John Sarbanes. Notably, the only Democratic member of the state's congressional delegation not on the list of endorsements is Baltimore Rep. Elijah E. Cummings.

Cummings is the top Democrat on the select committee investigating the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, and he was widely praised by Democrats for his role defending Clinton during the 11-hour hearing on the matter last month. He has also said he is trying to distance himself from the politics of the investigation, which may explain his absence from the list.

Maryland, with its April 26 election, is not likely to be much of a factor in the primary election. However, the state is home to several heavy hitting Democratic donors. Former president Bill Clinton attended a fundraiser in Maryland for the Clinton campaign last month organized by Hoyer and Miller.

O'Malley is polling in the single digits nationally, and he hasn't performed much better in Maryland. Two percent of Maryland voters said they would support O'Malley in a Goucher Poll released last month.

The former governor announced his own set of Maryland endorsements earlier this month, including Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh, Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker and Montgomery County Executive Isiah "Ike" Leggett.

"I think he was an excellent governor of our state. I think his values were correct. I think that he led in many, many different areas," Hoyer, a staunch Clinton supporter, said when asked about O'Malley's presidential bid late last week. "But I think that [Vermont Sen. Bernie] Sanders has sort sucked the air out of either O'Malley...or anybody else.

"I think Hillary's going to be the nominee," Hoyer added. "She's clearly the most qualified."

Here's a list of the officials joining Clinton's leadership council in Maryland:

Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski
Sen. Ben Cardin
Rep. Steny Hoyer
Rep. John Delaney
Rep. Donna F. Edwards
Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger
Rep. John Sarbanes
Rep. Chris Van Hollen
Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp
Comptroller Peter Franchot
Former Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend
Former Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr.
State Sen. Cheryl Kagan
State Sen. Susan C. Lee
State Sen. Nancy King
State Sen. Mac Middleton
State Sen. Richard Madaleno Jr.
State Sen. Catherine Pugh
State Sen. Delores Kelley
State Sen. Guy Guzzone
Del. Kirill Reznik
Del. Brooke Lierman
Del. Marc Korman
Del. Shane Pendergrass
Del. Carlo Sanchez
Del. Ben Barnes
Del. Edith Patterson
Del. Shelly Hettleman
Del. Carolyn J. B. Howard
Del.  Samuel I. “Sandy” Rosenberg
Del. Frank Turner
Del. Vanessa Atterbeary
Del. Eric Ebersole
Del. Terri Hill
Del. Jay Walker
Del. Clarence Lam
DNC Member Bruce Morrison
DNC Member Karren Pope-Onwukwe
DNC Member Maria Cordone
DNC Member Greg Pecoraro
Mayor of College Park Andrew Fellows
Mayor of Hagerstown David Gysberts
State's Attorney Prince George's County Angela Alsobrooks
Prince George’s County Council Chair Mel Franklin
Prince George’s County Councilmember Todd Turner
Prince George’s County Councilmember Deni Taveras
Baltimore County Councilmember Tom Quirk
Baltimore County Councilmember Vicki Almond
Baltimore County Councilmember Cathy Bevins
Baltimore City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young
Howard County Councilmember Calvin Ball
Howard County Register of Wills Byron Macfarlane
Former Ambassador Cynthia Schneider
Former Secretary of Aging and State Senator Gloria Lawlah
Former White House Communications Director Ann Lewis
Community Leader and Former FCC Commissioner Susan Ness
Former Assistant US Attorney Paul Tiao
Former Maryland National Committeeman Lanny Davis
Former Delegate David Valderrama
Student Leader Samara Cohen
Community Leader Tom Schneider
Community Leader Tessa Hill-Aston
Community Leader Elianne Ramos
Community Leader Courtney Watson
Community Leader Laura Esquivel
Community Leader Karen Murphy
Community Leader Lucie Lehmann
Community Leader Dana Beyer
Community Leader Lisa Polyak
Community Leader Lee Finney
Community Leader Kathy Bustraan
Community Leader Sarah Meyers