Earlier today Kathleen Matthews made it official. The former journalist and wife of Hardball host Chris Matthews announced she's seeking the Democratic nomination for the Maryland congressional seat being vacated by Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D), who is seeking the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Barbara Mikulski (D), who is retiring.
We can expect the former WJLA-TV news anchor to tack hard to the left, as the Washington Post's Bill Turque noted that:
Matthews said she will bring “an opportunity agenda” for women and children to the campaign, focusing on pay equity, reproductive rights and an increased minimum wage.
Ms. Matthews may score a bit low on the Democratic Party's diversity totem pole as a straight white Catholic woman who's facing off against a black former Obama staffer (Will Jawando), a Latina state delegate (Ana Sol Gutierrez), an Indian-American state delegate (Kumar Barve), and a Jewish law-school professor/state senator (Jamie Raskin).
But of course, Matthews may well have a strong fundraising advantage in the race over her Democratic primary rivals given the name-recognition factor and the political and corporate connections she and her husband bring to the table. After all, Kathleen Matthews's most recent job was that of chief global communications and public affairs officer at the Bethesda, Md.-based hotel chain Marriott International, so she's surely got a lot of heavy-hitters on speed dial.
For our archive on Kathleen Matthews, click here.
