Chelsea Manning, the transgender activist and whistleblower who was jailed for leaking military documents, has filed to run for U.S. Senate in Maryland, according to the Washington Post.
While Manning has not commented on her run, either to the press or on social media, her candidacy seems to be a bit of surprise in Maryland’s political scene. Her Democratic opponent, Ben Cardin, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has favorable ratings and would be seeking a third term, according to the Post.
However, Manning, while a controversial figure, could be seen by progressives as a political force. Last year, she was freed from a military prison in Kansas after President Obama commuted her sentence. Since then, she has moved to Maryland, speaks at political events, and writes columns about civil rights.
“We need to stop hoping that our systems will right themselves,” Manning wrote for the Guardian last year. “We need to actually take the reins of government and fix our institutions. We need to save lives by making change at every level.”