Chelsea Manning Files to Run for U.S. Senate

Filing with Elections Commission Placed This Week

Chelsea Manning has filed to run for the United States Senate in Maryland.

“Chelsea Manning, the transgender former Army private who was convicted of passing sensitive government documents to Wikileaks, has filed to run for the U.S. Senate in Maryland, according to federal election filings,” the Washington Post reported Saturday.

Manning would challenge Democrat Ben Cardin, who will face re-election in November. “Cardin is Maryland’s senior senator and is considered an overwhelming favorite to win a third term,” the Post noted.

One year ago, President Barack Obama advised that “it made sense to commute and not pardon Chelsea Manning’s sentence,” advising that he felt “very comfortable that justice has been served.”

“It has been my view that given she went to trial, due process was carried out, she took responsibility for her crime,” he continued, “that the sentence she received was very disproportional relative to what other leakers had received.”

Manning was subsequently released in May from a military prison in Kansas. She served seven years in prison, 28 short of her 35-year sentence due to the president’s commutation.

The Post also reported that Manning moved to Maryland after her release, and that “friends and family raised more than $175,000 to support her through an online campaign.” The filing with the Federal Elections Commission was placed on Thursday of this week.

Manning, nor Senator Cardin, returned requests for comment to the outlet.

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