Wynn's Foe Focuses On Breakaway Votes

Popular Lawmaker Put on Defensive

U.S. Rep. Albert R. Wynn (D-Md.), elected to Congress in 1992 as the nation's first representative of a majority-black suburban district, often argues that the best way to bring more constituents into the aspiring middle class is to promote small business and create jobs.

It's why he hosts an annual job fair and another for local contractors who want business with the federal government. It's also why he says he voted in 2005 to repeal the estate tax and became a surprising advocate for casinos in Annapolis in 2003, thinking they would create more jobs than slot machines would.

"It influences a lot of my policy decisions," he said. "It's a somewhat different philosophy of how you deal with some of the social ills that confront the African American community."

In his 15 years in the House, Wynn's supporters say, he has been a vigorous voice for traditional Democratic causes, particularly raising the minimum wage, union protections for federal workers and proposals to expand health insurance for low-income children, vetoed by President Bush last year.

But Wynn has also shown a willingness to step away from his party on some key issues, particularly, he has said, when driven by his philosophy on small and minority business, leading him to votes that have created an opening for challengers. Prince George's County lawyer Donna F. Edwards came within three percentage points of defeating Wynn in 2006 and is running against him again this year in a campaign that has attracted national attention.

Four other less-known Democrats -- Michael Babula, Jason Jennings, George E. McDermott and George E. Mitchell -- are also running against Wynn in the Feb. 12 primary; Robert Broadus, Peter James, Vincent Martorano and Michael Moshe Starkman are competing for the GOP nomination.

Wynn's detractors say he votes too often with Republicans for a representative from an overwhelmingly Democratic district, which comprises portions of Prince George's and Montgomery counties. When Edwards ran in 2006, she criticized his 2002 vote to authorize the use of military force in Iraq. Wynn has said for several years that the vote was a mistake.

This year she is emphasizing his other breakaway votes even more. Where Wynn sees efforts to help small businesses, Edwards see positions influenced by corporate interests who have contributed heavily to Wynn's campaigns.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Wynn has raised almost half of his funds for this campaign from corporate political action committees, including more than $63,000 from electric utilities and $12,400 from oil and gas interests. The numbers are based on finance reports filed at the end of September. Updated reports will be made public Jan. 31.

"When you're taking money from special interests . . . it raises the question of whether you're able to do the public interest instead of the corporate special interest," Edwards said recently.

It is a strategy she hopes will help her edge into Wynn's popularity in Prince George's and be particularly effective in Montgomery, where overwhelming support buoyed her previous effort.

Sensing the opening, Edwards's campaign has attracted a coalition of liberal causes, including environmental groups and Emily's List, which supports female candidates who favor abortion rights, as well as heavy investment from the Service Employees International Union.