Challenger drafts plan for possible run next year

Friday, March 30, 2007

Challenger drafts plan for possible run next year

Activist, lawyer’s weekly meetings signal likely campaign to oust incumbent

by Judson Berger | Staff Writer

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Christopher Anderson⁄The Gazette

U.S. Rep. Albert R. Wynn throws out the first pitch at a baseball game on March 21 at Wise High School in Upper Marlboro.

Donna F. Edwards may not be a registered candidate for Congress yet, but she is certainly talking like one.

The Fort Washington activist and lawyer who gave U.S. Rep. Albert R. Wynn (D-Dist. 4) of Mitchellville a run for his money in last year’s Democratic primary is already discussing what she’ll do differently this time, as she prepares for a likely rematch.

Speaking at Silver Spring’s El Golfo restaurant on Saturday, Edwards said she plans to be better organized, spend more time campaigning and raise more money — much more money.

She has been holding weekly community meetings this year throughout the district, which spans Prince George’s and Montgomery counties.

‘‘I think that we’re going to have to almost match Mr. Wynn, dollar for dollar ... I’m guessing we’re going to have to raise $1 million,” Edwards said. That’s nearly triple the $345,000 she raised last year. ‘‘Chump change,” she called last year’s campaign treasury.

Edwards came within three points of defeating Wynn in September, and said that should translate into more reliable support if she runs again.

For starters, she expects to have a bona fide campaign manager this time. Last year, she said the team never had that luxury because nobody reputable would risk backing a first-time candidate against Wynn, a political powerhouse in Prince George’s now serving his eighth term.

Edwards said she also expects to have more time. Last year, she began campaigning heavily in June, giving her three months to reach the district’s voters. But this year, she expects to announce her candidacy next month, giving her about 10 months to campaign, if she decides to run.

But Wynn seems to have already gotten the jump on community outreach. He, too, holds weekly meetings and makes public appearances. Last week, he threw the opening pitch at the Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. High School varsity baseball game in Upper Marlboro. And his 12th Annual Procurement Fair and Business Expo was held Monday in Rockville.

Wynn has also taken a strong stance against the Iraq war, even though Edwards sharply rebuked him last year for originally backing the war. Wynn voted last week for the bill requiring U.S. troop withdrawal by August 2008. ‘‘This war has cost us 3,200 American lives and over $400 billion. Our troops and our country have sacrificed enough. Let’s bring them home,” he said in a statement.

Staffers say the congressman’s increased visibility is just a mark of solid constituent service and not a campaign in disguise.