In one corner, Danny Glover and Gloria Steinem, no titles needed. In the other, Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett, Montgomery Council President Mike Knapp and now state Sen. and former Prince George’s County Council Chairman David Harrington.
They are all players in the Democratic primary race in Maryland’s 4th District between eight-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Al Wynn and challenger Donna Edwards. The race — which has been billed as the “battle for the soul of the Democratic Party” — has been the subject of a PBS special and featured in the conservative New York Sun and left-leaning magazine The Nation.
While the national names are largely in Edwards’ corner, those who control local decisions overwhelmingly back Wynn. There are exceptions of course, like Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who gave Wynn her support, and Montgomery County Council Member Valerie Ervin and Del. Ana Sol Gutierrez, who back Edwards.
Wynn says he’s confident the Prince George’s and Montgomery County residents he represents are happy with his leadership.
Leaders like Knapp and Leggett say Wynn has always been there when they called on him for support, like funding for public schools and community colleges or aid for water and sewer projects.
Edwards says she’s proud her support network spans the country.
“It’s not a surprise to me that individuals across the country are embracing this campaign,” Edwards told The Examiner. “We share values … that real people need to determine politics and policies, not corporations.”
Steinem, on YouTube.com, said “If I could point to any single candidate that most perfectly represents the interest of the majority of Americans and the interest of her district, I would say its Donna Edwards.”
Political analyst David Wasserman, the U.S. House editor for the nonpartisan Cook Report, said Wynn is an “80 percent Democrat,” but that may not matter to Prince George’s residents.
