FOR all his purported business acumen, it seems the woman card may not be as valuable as Donald J. Trump thinks: In Maryland on Tuesday, Representative Chris Van Hollen beat Representative Donna Edwards in the Democratic primary race for the Senate seat to be vacated by Barbara Mikulski.

In her concession speech, Ms. Edwards railed against the hypocrisy of a party that relies on black female votes but has sent only one black woman to the Senate. “What I want to know from my Democratic Party is, when will the voices of people of color, when will the voices of women, when will the voices of labor, when will the voices of black women, when will our voices be effective, legitimate equal leaders in a big-tent party?” she asked.

If Ms. Edwards had gone on to win in November, she would have been the first black woman in the Senate in more than 15 years.

She raises a crucial question, and one that Democrats, even as they come closer to nominating Hillary Clinton, have been bad at answering. Democrats and liberals generally agree that representation matters. This is the party that supports affirmative action, that champions diversity, that pays lip service to getting more women and minorities represented in public office. But does representation matter over other factors?