Wynn-Edwards rematch has ‘unique symmetry’

4th District primary among most closely watched in nation

‘‘There’s a unique symmetry about this primary,” said David Wasserman, House editor of the influential Cook’s Political Report. ‘‘This has been a surrogate battle between not just factions of the Democratic Party, but factions within factions of the Democratic Party.”

That makes the 4th District primary the most closely watched among political insiders nationally even though many of the issues involved are local to Prince George’s and Montgomery counties, he said.

‘‘There’s no level of agreement within the Democratic Party in this race,” he said. ‘‘It’s really a battle between a new style of progressives who don’t associate themselves with Prince George’s County machine politics and old guard voters who have been at this for a long time. This is a generational matchup between them.”

Even Democrats who work together are divided on the two. Montgomery County Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg (D-At large) of North Bethesda, is a big supporter of Edwards. Council President Michael J. Knapp (D-Dist. 2) of Germantown, supports Wynn.

‘‘She is a fighter,” Trachtenberg said. ‘‘She’s got great personal skills. She’s got good understanding of what community challenges exist in that congressional district and she’s got a lot of friends on the hill. She’s spent years working on women’s issues.”

Knapp said Wynn has worked hard for the people of the 4th District, which stretches from Prince George’s County into western Montgomery County.

‘‘I was asked why I was supporting Wynn, but every time I’ve asked him to support something in the county, he’s been there,” Knapp said.

The race is too close to call, but Wasserman gives a slight nod to Wynn.

‘‘If I were a candidate, I’d rather have the endorsement of party leaders and precinct chairs ... than multimillion organizations such as Move On or Emily’s List, whose supporters are certainly numerous and rich, but aren’t concentrated in the district,” Wasserman said. ‘‘The outcome will have a lot to do as to who is perceived as more out of touch with the district. Is it Wynn, being one of the more moderate members of the Congressional Black Caucus? Or is it Edwards bringing in support from people not based in the district?”

Both Wynn and Edwards have accused the other of being ‘‘out of touch” with the district.

Wynn’s campaign filed a Federal Election Commission complaint against Edwards last month alleging Edwards used her position with a nonprofit foundation to increase her campaign war chest with money from supporters from outside of the district. Edwards has claimed Wynn’s votes on the 2005 bankruptcy bill and previous support for the Iraq war shows he has lost touch with the people in the district.

Those charges in the 2006 race carried Edwards to within 3,000 votes of an upset over Wynn.

But whether that line of attack works in 2008 remains to be seen, said Del. Herman L. Taylor Jr., who contemplated entering the race himself.

Taylor believes Wynn has worked harder to meet with people in the 4th District since the narrow win in 2006.

‘‘He got the message,” said Taylor (D-Dist. 14) of Ashton. ‘‘No one can deny this man didn’t get the message.”

Insiders say the FEC complaint, however, which won’t be reviewed until after the primary, shows that the Wynn campaign is again feeling the heat, Wasserman said.

Wynn also faces primary candidates Michael Babula, George Mitchell, Jason Jennings and George McDermott.

Wasserman said he did not think the other candidates would muster enough votes to split the anti-Wynn vote and make a difference in the race.