By Rosalind S. Helderman and William Wan
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, February 13, 2008; 12:23 AM

U.S. Rep. Albert R. Wynn (D) conceded a short time ago after losing to Prince George's County lawyer Donna F. Edwards.

Wynn, who had served in the 4th District for eight terms, had been targeted by an aggressive advertisement campaign, funded in part with hundreds of thousands of dollars from national labor groups and liberal organizations. The effort apparently convinced voters that Wynn had fallen out of step with his overwhelmingly Democratic district during his 15 years in Congress.

"The deed is done," Wynn told reporters at a Lanham union hall where his supporters had gathered after the polls closed. "I think the only thing that remains is to support the winner."

Edwards, speaking to her supporters at Largo hotel, said: "Today the voters went to the polls looking for a change, and they went out there looking for new leadership. They found what they were looking for in this campaign."

With voting hours extended until 9:30 p.m. because of icy weather, election results were expected to arrive late in the closely contested race. After polls closed at 8 p.m., voters cast provisional paper ballots, which will not be counted until Tuesday.

At parties for each candidate last night, supporters could do little but anxiously wait for tallies to start trickling in. By 10:30 p.m., however, Edwards' supporters at a hotel in Largo were cheering the slowly arriving results, as she won precincts thought to be in Wynn's core of support.

"I'm feeling really optimistic about where we are right now," she told reporters. "I'm just really excited that the voters this evening really seem to be just speaking loudly and clearly, and we'll be excited at the end of the evening to find out exactly how loudly."

Wynn arrived at his party at a Lanham union hall at about 9:45 p.m. and briefly greeted supporters and reporters before heading behind closed doors.

"We'll be back once we have something, though I think it's going to be a little late," he said. "I'm feeling great. Now all I have to do is wait."

Elsewhere in Maryland, a challenger to nine-term U.S. Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest (R) claimed victory shortly after midnight.

State Sen. Andrew P. Harris (Baltimore County) had a narrow lead over Gilchrest.

Harris declared victory, said his campaign manager Chris Meekins.

But at a party on the Eastern Shore, Gilchrest thanked his supporters and said it would be a long night with no immediate resolution to the race in sight, said spokeswoman Cathy Bassett.

Harris, along with state Sen. E.J. Pipkin (Queen Anne's) had put up a fierce challenge to Gilchrest, who they said had grown too moderate for his district, which includes part of Anne Arundel County.

Gilchrest voted against his party more times last year than any other House Republican. State Sens. E.J. Pipkin (Queen Anne's) and Andrew P. Harris (Baltimore County) attacked Gilchrest, but also each other, in an attempt to assume the mantle of the race's most conservative candidate.

Wynn angered progressives nationally by crossing party lines on several key votes and by accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in corporate donations, including thousands in the closing days before the election.

When Edwards, the director of a well-known foundation that hands out grants to progressive causes, came within 3.3 percentage points of beating Wynn in 2006, national activists saw the race as an opportunity to send a message that they would hold wayward Democrats accountable.

Both Edwards and Wynn attempted to link their candidacies to that of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in recent days, hoping to capitalize on expected heavy turnout for Obama in their 4th Congressional District, which includes parts of Montgomery and Prince George's counties.

Edwards told voters she best represented the kind of change Obama has been preaching, and Wynn argued he had proved himself a pragmatic bipartisan worker, like Obama.

Both candidates had made their ability to tackle the foreclosure crisis a centerpiece of their campaigns in the district, which has among the highest foreclosure rates in Maryland. They tangled over whether Wynn's 2005 decision to join Republicans in support of a bankruptcy reform bill had a role in worsening the crisis.

Wynn had urged voters to reject the national effort to oust him, arguing they would be foolish to give up his 15 years of seniority so soon after Democrats have assumed control of Congress.

In the closing days of the race, he went on the offensive against Edwards, alerting voters in automated calls to tax liens filed against Edwards's home for failure to pay taxes. She said that she had been honest about her financial struggles as a single mother and that she repaid all her debts.

Wynn also suggested to voters that Edwards was the puppet of outside forces attempting to dictate their representation, a frequent complaint of Prince George's County, which is home to two-thirds of the district's voters.

Supported by environmental groups and two large unions, Edwards pledged to accept no contributions from corporate political action committees and said her experience raising her son as a single mother made her better able to understand the struggles of county voters than Wynn.

Edwards said she was proud to have support of national activists, including the likes of Democratic activist James Dean -- brother of former presidential candidate Howard -- and actor Danny Glover. But she argued district voters backed her effort, too.

Voting yesterday at Evangel Cathedral in Upper Marlboro, father and son Melvin and Chris Spencer said they had voted for Edwards, feeling it was time for a change in their representation.

"We felt he was a little out of touch with us voters," Chris Spencer said. "His time is done."

Ivone McReynolds of Cameron Grove said she decided to back Wynn based on negative campaigning by Edwards and her supporters.

"She came off as so spiteful and so degrading," McReynolds said. "She didn't promote herself. She demoted Wynn."

Four other Democrats were also competing in the race: economist Michael Babula, utility consultant Jason Jennings, retired activist George E. McDermott and real estate agent George E. Mitchell.

Four Republicans were also competing to take on Wynn or his successful challenger in the 4th district. They were Michael Moshe Starkman, who ran against Wynn in 2006, as well as Robert Broadus, Peter James and Vincent Martorano.

Starkman argued the nasty tone of the race between Edwards and Wynn might create an unusual opening for Republicans in November. At a recent debate, Starkman described one recent conversation he had with a voter.

"If you're not him and you're nother, I'm with you," he said the voter told him.

In Maryland's 1st district, Gilchrest received support from President Bush and former House speaker Newt Gingrich. In the Republican primary, he is vying against Harris, Pipkin and two other contenders -- author Joe Arminio and former Baltimore County Orphan's Court judge Robert Joseph Banks.

Although his district typically votes Republican in November, it includes more registered Democrats than Republicans. State Democratic leaders vowed to make a serious play to pick up the seat in November regardless of the Republican primary winner. They were backing Queen Anne's state's attorney Rank M. Kratovil Jr. in the Democratic primary against three others.

Elsewhere, Maryland's most powerful congressman, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer faced one Democratic challenger, while three Republicans competed to battle the winner of the contest in the fall -- Lumber broker Collins Bailey, Jesse James Dann, attorney Mike Hethmon.In Montgomery County, three-term incumbent Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D) faced two Democratic opponents, while five Republicans competed for the GOP nomination -- Ophthalmic surgeon Steven J. Hudson, non-government organization president Meyer F. Marks, lawyer Brian Mezger, software company executive Jay Roberts and lawyer Bruce Stern.

The newest member of the Maryland House Delegation, first-term Rep. John P. Sarbanes (D), faced a challenge from Annapolis businessman John M. Rea. Republicans were choosing their candidate from among three contenders -- Thomas E. "Pinkston" Harris. Christopher Panasuk, a Verizon technician. Aerospace engineer Paul Spause. John Stafford, an investment strategy newsletter editor.

Six-term incumbent Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, who had spent recent days campaigning hard for Obama, faced his own challenge from Baltimore activist Charles Ulysses Smith. Two Republicans vied to take on the Democratic nominee in the Howard County and Baltimore City district.

Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett faced four challengers for the GOP nomination in his Frederick and Montgomery County district. Army veteran Andrew Duck, the unsuccessful Democratic challenger in 2006, was competing with four others for the chance to challenge the Republican nominee in the fall -- Frederick mayor Jennifer P. Dougherty.

Washington area voters in Howard, Montgomery and Calvert counties also selected nonpartisan school board candidates to compete in November.

Staff writer Nelson Hernandez contributed to this story.