Donna Edwards, a lawyer and liberal activist who already was expected to win a seat in Congress in November, will be the Democratic nominee, and the almost certain winner, in the June 17 special general election to replace departing eight-term Democratic Rep. Albert R. Wynn in Maryland’s 4th Congressional District.

A special election victory would allow Edwards to fill out the remaining half year of Wynn’s unexpired term, and give her a head start on seniority over the members of the House freshman class elected in November. Wynn, whose campaign for re-election ended when he lost his Feb. 12 Democratic primary to Edwards in the overwhelmingly Democratic district, decided to resign his seat early to join a Washington, D.C., law firm; his last day in Congress will be May 31.

Edwards, as expected, was nominated as the near-unanimous choice of the Democratic Party organizations in both of counties that provide the district’s constituency just outside Washington, D.C. The Democratic central committee in Prince George’s County voted 17-0 Thursday night to nominate Edwards. Two days earlier, the Montgomery County committee selected Edwards by a vote of 22-1.

The only formality left is that the party’s state central committee has to officially nominate Edwards. That step is required by a new law creating an expedited process for this special election. It set up the single June 17 contest and dropped the standing requirement under state law for a primary, allowing the party organizations to pick their candidates. Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley, who signed the bill into law, and other supporters said the measure will shorten the time that the seat is vacant and save taxpayers the $1 million it would have cost to stage the primary. [MORE]