Biography

Donna Fern Edwards (born June 28, 1958) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Maryland's 4th congressional district from 2008 to 2017. The district included most of Prince George's County, as well as part of Anne Arundel County. She is a member of the Democratic Party. A lawyer and longtime community activist, she defeated eight-term incumbent Albert Wynn in the 2008 Democratic primary and, following his resignation, won a special election on June 17, 2008, to fill the remainder of this term. She was sworn in two days later on June 19, becoming the first African-American woman to represent Maryland in the United States Congress. Edwards ran for a full term in November 2008, defeating Republican candidate Peter James with 85% of the vote. She ran for U.S. Senate in 2016 in the primary to replace retiring Barbara Mikulski instead of running for re-election to her Congressional seat but was defeated by Congressman Chris Van Hollen in the Democratic primary. In 2022, Edwards ran for the congressional seat she previously held but lost to Glenn Ivey in the Democratic primary. In 2013, she sponsored an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would repeal the 2010 Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.