Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings
Well, this is unexpected. While Maryland Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings never ruled out a Senate bid, he spent months doing nothing to prepare for one and it looked very likely that he'd sit it out. But
The Washington Post reports that Cummings has
hired a major Democratic Senate fundraiser. Cummings sits in a safely blue seat and has no primary challengers in sight, so he wouldn't need to raise real money unless he's serious about a statewide campaign.
If Cummings gets in, he'll face fellow Reps. Chris Van Hollen and Donna Edwards in the primary. Both current candidates hail from the D.C. suburbs while Cummings comes from Baltimore City, so geography could give him the edge. Cummings won widespread praise for his role during Baltimore's recent unrest, so he definitely wouldn't struggle for name recognition in this critical area. Indeed, a recent Edwards poll gave Cummings a 65-9 favorable rating among primary voters, far ahead of either Van Hollen or Edwards' score. However, Edwards would be the lone woman in a three-way race while Van Hollen would be the only white candidate, so this contest could develop in some unexpected ways.
It's still far from guaranteed that Cummings will get in: Florida GOP Rep. Jeff Miller spent months staffing up for a Senate campaign before unexpectedly announcing that he would stay out. But Cummings would definitely shake this contest up, and he's worth watching.