Thursday, June 14, 2007

Challengers set to face Wynn

Incumbent is seeking his ninth term in Congress

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Christopher Anderson⁄The Gazette
U.S. Rep. Albert Wynn (D-Dist. 4) of Mitchellville speaks at his campaign kickoff event June 8 at Camelot of Upper Marlboro.
Political rivals of U.S. Rep. Albert Wynn (D-Dist. 4) of Mitchellville say they are not intimidated by his splashy entrance into his race for re-election or his early fundraising success.

Wynn kicked off his campaign for the 2008 primary with a high-dollar breakfast fundraiser in Upper Marlboro, followed by two events in Montgomery County. Organizers said the nearly 1,000 people who attended Friday’s event contributed $250,000 to the race.

But Fort Washington attorney and activist Donna Edwards, who came within three points of beating Wynn in last year’s primary and has quietly filed to run again, said she’s ready.

‘‘I don’t really see anything that’s too much different from the lay of the land last time - lots of electeds supporting Al Wynn and lots of voters saying ‘no,’” said Edwards. She plans to hold her kickoff June 30 at Watkins Regional Park in Upper Marlboro. ‘‘It doesn’t surprise me that ... he’s surrounding himself with elected officials. But surrounding yourself with elected officials is not the same as surrounding yourself with voters.”

Wynn and Edwards are already battling for the attention of the district, which spans Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. Each has been holding town hall meetings and listening to constituents’ concerns this year throughout District 4 territory.

Edwards has said she plans to raise $1 million from donors across the country. That’s triple last year’s war chest. And she’s already signed on a campaign manager, an asset she lacked last year, when she was a first-time candidate.

Prince George’s realtor and first-time candidate George Mitchell, who filed in April, said he plans to start door-knocking throughout the district soon and that he’s already assembled a 45-person team to help him hand out fliers and hold meet-and-greets.

‘‘I think Mr. Wynn is gonna have his hands full – from me anyway,” said Mitchell, who lives in Upper Marlboro. ‘‘Al is not a bad guy ... but the situation is people are just disgruntled, and it’s time for a change.”

Wynn campaign manager Lori Sherwood said last week’s events were just the beginning of an intense campaign season of fundraisers and community events.

Campaign workers at the Friday event handed out dozens of the blue Wynn brochures and bumper stickers to guests. The new brochure stresses the importance of ending the war in Iraq, which he initially supported, and achieving universal health care.

‘‘I need friends [to campaign],” Wynn told the crowd at Camelot of Upper Marlboro. ‘‘It’s evident by the turnout today that I’ve got friends.”

Wynn held other campaign events in Montgomery County at the Shady Grove Metro Station in Gaithersburg and the Silver Spring Metro Station.

The stops in Montgomery reflect Wynn’s outreach to the Montgomery section of his district, which voted overwhelmingly for Edwards in the last election. He even lists Montgomery County before Prince George’s County in the new campaign brochure.

‘‘Al Wynn is clearly supercharging his campaign,” said Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot, who is supporting Wynn for his ninth term.

‘‘It’s going to be a tough race, but I think he’s developed a track record, and he has a lot of support,” said Prince George’s school board member Ron Watson (at-large), who added himself to that list. ‘‘He’s re-engaging the community.”

E-mail Judson Berger at jberger@gazette.net.

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