MD-4: A changed race

Last Wednesday's debate at Prince George's Community College in Largo between Rep. Al Wynn and primary challenger Donna Edwards, especially the alleged attack of Edwards supporters by Wynn supporters, has attracted a fair amount of buzz in the blogosphere, both locally and nationally. It certainly marked a turning point: Wynn had already developed a reputation for being an absentee incumbent, more interested in defending corporate interests over the people's; now he looks so desperate to hold on to his seat that he'll tolerate violence against his opposition. And Edwards, who already was a credible candidate, now has media attention from both online and traditional sources; which, if she keeps going after Wynn the way she did at the debate, can only help her campaign. So this is becoming a hot race.

The fact that this is all taking place in the aftermath of Ned Lamont's watershed victory over Joe Lieberman in the Connecticut Senate primary enhances the profile of this race even further. Lamont proved that progressives fed up with the current political leadership could take on the Democratic establishment and win. Lieberman, to be sure, had a hand in his own demise -- besides routinely attacking his own party to boost his own image, he responded to Lamont's challenge in the most amateurish of ways -- but the upshot is that the Democratic enablers of the Bush and the Republican agenda are now being called to account for themselves. Small wonder that many "centrist" Beltway insiders have reacted to the Lamont victory with utter horror.

But for the vast majority of Democrats, Lamont's win has been fantastic news. Moreover, the model for his win -- a combination of netroots and grassroots support -- has great potential for other progressive candidates looking to throw out entrenched incumbents. In this light, Edwards was very astute to saddle Wynn with the title, "Maryland's Joe Lieberman." We don't know yet whether the Edwards campaign can overcome Wynn's machine, but right now, it looks strong, and is getting stronger.

UPDATE: Over the next few days, I'm going to try to assemble information on this race, particularly Wynn's votes on the estate tax, the Iraq War, the Bush/Cheney energy bill, and Net Neutrality; the demographics of the 4th District; and how Edwards can pull off a win.

Tags: MD-4, Al Wynn, Donna Edwards, Ned Lamont, Joe Lieberman, Democrats