April 21, 2010

Mikulski to Launch Re-election Bid Friday

By John Wagner  |  Washington Post

Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) will "officially" kick off her 2010 re-election bid on Friday with a statewide tour that lasts through the weekend, her campaign announced Wednesday.

The tour will take Maryland's senior senator to Baltimore and Allegany, Montgomery, Frederick, Prince George's and Washington counties. Along the way, Mikulski is scheduled to meet up with several of the state's other leading Democrats, including Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin, Gov. Martin O'Malley and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

Mikulski's desire to seek another term has hardly been a secret. Last month, she hosted a gathering to celebrate the "grand opening" of her campaign headquarters in Baltimore, declaring: "When it's tough, it's time when the tough get going."

Mikulski, a senator since 1987, faces several little-known Republican challengers this year, including Eric Wargotz, a Queen Anne's County commissioner, and James B. Rutledge III, a Harford County lawyer.

One of the better-known GOP Senate hopefuls, Carmen Amedori, a former state delegate from Carroll County, dropped out of the race last week to join the Republican gubernatorial ticket of Brian Murphy, a businessman from Montgomery County.