The boss is getting tested — and testy.
Through a combination of district neglect, some questionable votes and an ugly incident involving two of his campaign bullies, Congressman Al Wynn suddenly finds himself in the political fight of his life against a gutsy challenger in Maryland’s 4th Congressional district Democratic primary.
Wynn’s district, rooted in Prince George’s County but with a significant new chunk of Montgomery voters added by the 2002 redistricting, is the most affluent majority-minority congressional seat in the country. But the middle-class African-Americans who form the political core of Wynn’s district are no less progressive on issues like Iraq, bankruptcy reform and energy independence.
So says Donna Edwards, who is challenging Wynn on his votes for the war and the Bush-Cheney energy plan. A sharp public interest lawyer and activist, Edwards’ attacks on Wynn have been sharper. The Wynn campaign staffers were arrested for attacking an Edwards’ campaign volunteer prior to Edwards’ verbal assault on Wynn at a recent candidate debate in Largo.
Edwards believes her message is resonating.
“So many people in the district don’t even know [Wynn] voted for the war,” she told me. “I think it’s because people make assumptions about what his position would be because he represents a progressive, majority-minority district, and on the surface that must mean he just wouldn’t have supported this president’s war.”
Some critics have taken to calling Wynn “Maryland’s Joe Lieberman.” That moniker is a bit unfair: Wynn has not been nearly the presidential enabler that Connecticut senator, who lost his primary four weeks ago to Ned Lamont, has been.
But, given that African-Americans are less supportive of the war than white voters — or even the subset of white Democrats — a better nickname for Wynn might be “the black Lieberman.” Though Wynn admits now his war vote was a mistake, it remains to be seen whether Democratic voters will forgive and forget.
If Wynn’s national profile and roll call votes opened the door for Edwards, his lax constituent relations and strong-armed bossism may shut it behind him.
Julius Henson, the Boss Tweed of Prince George’s County, runs Wynn’s formidable political machine. Local candidates know not to cross Wynn, and statewide Democratic hopefuls must pay to play if they want the machine’s support.
But Henson’s legendary field operation cannot quell the growing perception that Wynn is too often missing in a district that, ironically, is a mere Metro ride from Washington. Edwards says Prince George’s County voters complain to her that Wynn spends all his time in Montgomery, while Montgomery voters say the reverse.
“What that tells me is that he’s not spending a lot of time in either part of the district,” she sniffs.
Edwards’ problem is that she has just two paid staffers and has raised only $260,000 since declaring her candidacy in April. Using mostly volunteers, the Edwards team has knocked on 15,000 doors and logged 25,000 live calls. The campaign contracted another 40,000 “robo-calls,” with half of recipients receiving a message from Edwards and the remaining half hearing actor Danny Glover tout his friend’s insurgent candidacy.
“We’ll spend every last dime between now and the primary,” says Edwards, who won’t need the money after Sept. 12 in this heavily-Democratic district where the nominee will cruise to election.
Despite the surprise lift provided earlier this week by The Washington Post’s endorsement of her candidacy, Edwards’ late start and scarce resources may not be enough to topple Wynn … this time.
But as one Democratic state legislator in Wynn’s district put it — speaking to me only if unidentified — “if she gets to 40 percent, she might build enough momentum to beat him in 2008.”
Thomas F. Schaller is an associate political science professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
