Chelsea Manning Loses Longshot Maryland Primary Challenge To Sen. Ben Cardin

Chelsea Manning lost her bid for a U.S. Senate seat from Maryland on Tuesday, as incumbent Ben Cardin defeated her and six other challengers in the states Democratic primary.

Manning drew national attention when she filed in January to run against the 74-year-old Cardin.

The 30-year-old government whistleblower and former intelligence analyst began her race with some momentum, but her campaign stalled in recent weeks as appearances and fundraising declined, The Washington Post reported .

Manning conceded with an online statement Tuesday addressing her pullback in campaigning efforts to focus on her physical and mental health in recent months. She thanked her staff and volunteers for their work while telling her supporters to realize the power we have as individuals.

We started this campaign knowing it was a long-shot, Manning wrote in her concession. But, after spending hours and hours knocking on doors and making phone calls, Im convinced that the change people truly need goes beyond what our corrupt two-party system is willing to offer.

Last month, Manning posted a thread on Twitter claiming that Maryland residents were uninterested in voting and that primaries are rigged.

In one of her tweets, Manning said that we need something radically different and we cant just ask for it or expect it to happen somehow.

voting wont change anything - protesting with chants and signs and holding hands isnt gonna change anything either - we need more than that - we cant wait anymore - we need something radically different and we cant just ask for it or expect it to happen somehow

Chelsea E. Manning (@xychelsea) May 23, 2018","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Chelsea E. Manning","author_url":"https://twitter.com/xychelsea","cache_age":86400,"description":"voting wont change anything - protesting with chants and signs and holding hands isnt gonna change anything either - we need more than that - we cant wait anymore - we need something radically different and we cant just ask for it or expect it to happen somehow Chelsea E. Manning (@xychelsea) May 23, 2018\n\n","provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Chelsea E. Manning on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/xychelsea/status/999282352051417088","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"5b32b8d3e4b0b745f178a6df","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/chelsea-manning-loses-primary-ben-cardin-maryland_n_5b32b8d3e4b0b745f178a6df","entryTagsList":"senate,maryland,chelsea-manning,ben-cardin,transgender-rights-movement,@health_erectile,@health_ibs,@health_models","sectionSlug":"politics","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"queer-voices","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.politics","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":11},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5b32b8d3e4b0b745f178a6df","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"senate ","slug":"senate","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/senate","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/senate","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/senate"},"relegenceSubjectId":982725,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"U.S. Senate","slug":"us-senate","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/us-senate"},{"name":"Maryland","slug":"maryland","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/maryland","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/maryland","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/maryland"},"relegenceId":3688870,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"U.S. News","slug":"us-news"},"topic":{"title":"Maryland","slug":"maryland","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/maryland"},{"name":"chelsea manning","slug":"chelsea-manning","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/chelsea-manning","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/chelsea-manning","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/chelsea-manning"},"relegenceId":4246230,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"Politics","slug":"politics"},"topic":{"title":"chelsea manning","slug":"chelsea-manning","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/chelsea-manning"},{"name":"ben cardin","slug":"ben-cardin","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/ben-cardin","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/ben-cardin","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/ben-cardin"},"relegenceId":3610073,"url":"https://action.news/topic/ben-cardin"},{"name":"Transgender rights movement","slug":"transgender-rights-movement","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/transgender-rights-movement","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/transgender-rights-movement","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/transgender-rights-movement"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/transgender-rights-movement"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false,"enhancements":{}}">

voting wont change anything - protesting with chants and signs and holding hands isnt gonna change anything either - we need more than that - we cant wait anymore - we need something radically different and we cant just ask for it or expect it to happen somehow
Chelsea E. Manning (@xychelsea) May 23, 2018

Cardin, long a fixture on the Maryland political scene, is a heavy favorite to win a third Senate term in Novembers general election in the strongly Democratic state.

Manning, in her campaign, called for abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency months before it was put in the spotlight by President Donald Trump s since-rescinded policy of cracking down on undocumented immigrants by separating parents from their children at the U.S.-Mexico border.

We dont need ICE, she said in an interview with Democracy Now! in March . We dont need a lot of these gigantic... police agencies that are singularly focused on deporting people.

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

Manning, a former Army private, pleaded guilty in 2013 to leaking more than 700,000 government files to WikiLeaks. Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison , but was released in May 2017 after former President Barack Obama commuted her sentence in January of that year, just as he was leaving office.

She became a symbol of transgender rights while in jail when she went on a hunger strike to protest officials who denied her request for gender confirmation treatment. Manning, who was assigned male at birth and transitioned during her imprisonment, ended her strike after the Army complied with her request.

This story has been updated with a concession statement from Manning.