Former Maryland Lt. Gov. Brown says he will run for Congress

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- Former Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown said Thursday that he will run in the Democratic primary to succeed U.S. Rep. Donna Edwards, who is running for the seat of retiring Sen. Barbara Mikulski.

Brown's decision to run for Congress comes about five months after he lost the governor's race. It also is the latest in a series of candidacies launched by Maryland politicians after Mikulski announced last week that she would not seek re-election in 2016.

"I decided that I would run for office once again only if I believed in my heart that I still had something to give back to our community - the community where I've raised my children and dedicated my life to public service," Brown wrote in an email to supporters.

The district that Brown is running to represent is next to the nation's capital and stretches close to the Chesapeake Bay. It includes part of Anne Arundel County and a substantial portion of Prince George's County, which Brown represented in the Maryland House of Delegates for two terms before he became lieutenant governor in 2007 under then-Gov. Martin O'Malley.

Glenn Ivey, a Democratic former Prince George's County state's attorney, announced Wednesday that he is running for Edwards' seat in what could be a crowded primary in April 2016.

Brown, 53, lost the governor's race to Republican Larry Hogan, who won 51 percent of the vote in an upset for a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1. Brown also had wide backing of the state's Democratic political establishment. Critics have cited a lackluster campaign by Brown as part of the reason for the loss, which resulted at least partly due to low voter turnout in Prince George's County, his political base. Still, Brown won about 85 percent of the vote in his home county.

During the campaign, Brown outspent Hogan, who became the first candidate in the state's history to win the governorship using public campaign financing. Brown also focused television ads on social issues like gun control and abortion rights, while Hogan ran almost entirely on economic matters.

Brown's announcement on Thursday focused largely on financial issues, including declining home values, foreclosures, student loan debt and saving for retirement.

"Together, we'll fight for every family, regardless of where you live and where you're from by ensuring economic security for all," Brown wrote in the email to supporters.

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