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Albert Wynn
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMaryland's4th district
In office January 3, 1993 – May 31, 2008
Preceded by	Constituency established
Succeeded by	Donna Edwards
Member of theMaryland Senate from the25th district
In office January 14, 1987 – January 13, 1993
Preceded by	Mike Donovan
Succeeded by	Beatrice Tignor
Member of theMaryland House of Delegates from the 25th district
In office January 12, 1983 – January 14, 1987
Personal details
Born	Albert Russell Wynn (1951-09-10)September 10, 1951 (age 74) Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Jessie Wynn ​ (divorced)​ Gaines Clore ​ (died)​
Education	University of Pittsburgh (BA) Howard University Georgetown University (JD)

Albert Russell Wynn (born September 10, 1951) is an American lobbyist and former politician who served as a member of theUnited States House of Representatives, representing the4th district ofMaryland from 1993 to 2008. On February 13, 2008, Wynn was defeated in theDemocratic primary byDonna Edwards, and resigned his office effective May 31, 2008.

Wynn was born inMontgomery County, Pennsylvania. He was educated at theUniversity of Pittsburgh,Howard University, andGeorgetown University Law Center. While attending the University of Pittsburgh, Wynn was initiated as a member of the Beta Epsilon chapter ofKappa Alpha Psi fraternity.^{[citation needed]}

Soon after graduating, Wynn became director of the Prince George's County Consumer Protection Commission.^[1] In 1982, he founded his own law firm. He then spent a decade in theMaryland General Assembly, serving in thestate house from 1983 to 1987 and in thestate senate from 1987 to 1993.^[2]

Wynn entered the Democratic primary for the 4th District in 1992. The 4th had been reconfigured as a black-majority district after the1990 Census, and the previous incumbent, three-term DemocratTom McMillen, had been drawn out of the district. Wynn won a crowded seven-way primary by 1,300 votes, all but assuring him of election in the heavily Democratic district. He won the general election in November with 75 percent of the vote and was reelected seven times, never dropping below 75 percent of the vote.

Wynn was a member of theHouse Energy and Commerce Committee, where he chaired the Subcommittee on the Environment and Hazardous Materials.^[1] Wynn placed a high priority on economic issues. Wynn also supported the energy bill promoted by Vice President and former Halliburton CEO Dick Cheney.^{[citation needed]}

During the105th Congress, Wynn sponsored legislation passed to improve federal contracting opportunities for small and minority businesses. He has twice received theSmall Business AdministrationAdministrator's Leadership Award for his efforts on behalf of small businesses.

His 2000 re-election race made headlines, when the Congressman's estranged wife, Jessie Wynn, served as the campaign manager for his Republican opponent, John B. Kimble. In radio spots for Kimble's campaign, Mrs. Wynn stated "Albert Wynn does not respectblack women. He left me for thewhite woman."

During the107th Congress, Wynn was one of only four of 36Congressional Black Caucus members who voted on October 10, 2002 for thejoint resolution authorizing theIraq War. The other three Congressional Black Caucus members who voted for the resolution authorizing the Iraq War wereBill Jefferson ofLouisiana,Sanford Bishop ofGeorgia, andHarold Ford, Jr. ofTennessee.^[3][4] Wynn also served on the Congressional Black Caucus' Political Action Committee and its Minority Business Task Force.^[1]

Wynn has issued statements of support for integratingillegal aliens into society, so long as strong border security provisions are included. He spoke at theWashington, D.C. Immigration Rally in April 2006, condemningH. R. 4437 and other bills that aim to deport all illegal immigrants. On Wynn's official website, he says "Now that they are in this country, we owe them respect and fair treatment."^[5]

In 2006, he was challenged in the Democratic primary by community activistDonna Edwards, most recently executive director of theArca Foundation. Edwards, who had clerked for Wynn in the 1980s while he served in the state legislature, criticized Wynn for his votes to support the Iraq war, repeal of the estate tax, support of theBankruptcy Reform Act of 2005, and of the Bush Administration's energy bill, arguing that he was too conservative and too closely allied with Republicans. While Wynn was initially heavily favored, Edwards showed surprising strength. Two weeks before the primary,The Washington Post endorsed Edwards.

The primary was held on September 12, and when all the votes had been counted, Wynn defeated Edwards by 49.7 percent to 46.4 percent — by 2,725 votes out of more than 82,000 cast. George McDermott, a little-known candidate, took 3.9 percent. The final tally of the primary was unclear for nearly two weeks because of widespread voting problems on new electronic voting machines in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.^[6]

Edwards sought a rematch in 2008. This time, Edwards won the backing of the influentialMoveOn.org.^[7] Edwards also had the support of many progressive community organizations, and many influentialnetroots organizations such asDaily Kos andOpenLeft.

In the primary, Edwards routed Wynn, 60 percent to 36 percent.^[8]

On March 27, 2008, Wynn announced his resignation from Congress effective in June.^[9]

Edwards was elected in a special election to finish out the rest of Wynn's term, defeating anti-war Republican primary winner Peter James in the general election in November 2008.^[8][10]

He became a partner ofDickstein Shapiro, a largelobbying firm whose clients include the tobacco, entertainment, energy, and software industries as well as theTeamsters.^[9] Because House rules prohibit former members from lobbying current members of Congress for one year after departing, Wynn began lobbying Congress in June 2009 instead of in January 2010 due to his early resignation.^[9]

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