with the Democratic candidates seeking to replace Mikulski when she retires at the end of her current term.
Edwards, who was elected to the House of Representatives in a 2008 special election, faces U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, who represents Maryland’s 8th Congressional District and has so far gained support from party leaders in the state legislature.
On rural economic development, Edwards said that along the Eastern Shore, especially the lower Shore, there are opportunities for growth and economic development around the commercial space sector, like the work happening on Wallops Island and the jobs connected to it.
She also said it would be beneficial to expand the research and development tax credit.
“It’s really through the (research and development) tax credit that small businesses and startups really generate the research dollars in bioscience and other kinds of technology areas that actually create jobs,” Edwards said.
Edwards also addressed how to balance regulations with the Eastern Shore’s important poultry industry.
“It is really tricky to try to balance the regulatory environment that we need to protect the Eastern Shore and potential runoff into the Chesapeake Bay with the needs of our farmers and growers,” Edwards said, adding that it’s a necessary balance.
She said she has long supported collective efforts, in regards to developing regulations. A less healthy Bay is a danger to the economic development in Maryland that surrounds the Bay, she said.
Edwards said that in her visits to the Eastern Shore, she hears people express concern about where jobs are going to come from.
“Transportation infrastructure is important to me” as it’s going to grow Maryland’s economy, said Edwards, who sits on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee — dealing with everything from the roads on the Eastern Shore to mass transit systems in the Washington-metro area and road and bridge repairs in western Maryland.
On the issue of Confederate monuments and memorials — an issue that surfaced over the summer after a shooting at a black church in Charleston, S.C. — Edwards said it should be left to communities to decide what’s best for them, but called it “deeply offensive” to some. In Easton, the controversy has centered on the Talbot Boys statue on the courthouse lawn, honoring Confederate veterans. . .
During the interview, Edwards was asked why she thinks she’s a better candidate than Van Hollen.
She said she decided to run for the U.S. Senate to replace Mikulski because she’s the most capable person to build on Mikulski’s legacy of supporting working families. Edwards said Thursday that she raised her son in Prince George’s county as a single mom, while juggling rent, bills, student loans and put food on the table while being involved in community activism, public policy and nonprofits.
She also said she will work to strengthen and expand Social Security and Medicare, “so they really are the foundation on which you can build upon retirement security.”
“I will be the person who will get in there fighting against special interests and fighting for working people,” Edwards said.'
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