State by State

Maryland

Democrat Donna Edwards is expected to become the newest member of Congress when Tuesday’s special election for former Rep. Albert Wynn’s (D) seat is complete.

Edwards, an activist, defeated Wynn in the February primary. Wynn then resigned earlier this month to accept a lobbying job, paving the way for the special election.

{mosads}Edwards faces Republican Peter James, but the district is heavily Democratic. It voted 78 percent for Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) in the 2004 presidential race.

Michigan

One of Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick’s (D) primary opponents is running a hard-hitting ad seeking to link Kilpatrick to the troubles of her son, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (D).

The ad features a full-throated defense Kilpatrick gave of her son, who was revealed through a series of text messages to have had an affair with his chief of staff. The ads are paid for by the campaign of former state Rep. Mary Waters (D).

Waters’s ad lists the felony counts against the mayor beneath a heavily circulated clip of Kilpatrick pleading for loyalty to her son, to whom she refers as “y’all’s boy.”

“Sorry, congresswoman, but we deserve much better than ‘y’all’s boy,’ ” the ad states.

State Sen. Martha Scott (D) is also running in the primary, which is Aug. 5.

— A.B.

Pennsylvania

Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta (R) led Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D) 47-42 in their match-up in late March, according to a poll released Monday by Barletta’s campaign.

The poll showed 36 percent of voters definitely voting for Barletta and 30 percent definitely for Kanjorski. Leaners put the margin at 5 percent, which was barely outside of the poll’s margin of error.

Kanjorski defeated Barletta 56-42 in 2002, but Republicans have high hopes for his repeat bid.

The polling was performed before a video surfaced of Kanjorski suggesting Democrats in 2006 oversold their ability to end the Iraq war.

It was conducted by Susquehanna Polling and Research among 400 likely voters between March 27 and 29. The poll only counted voters who had a voting record in the last four years.

Kanjorski’s campaign declined to comment.

— A.B.

Tennessee

Freshman Rep. David Davis (R) holds a wide lead over his primary opponent, according to a poll released Friday by Davis’s campaign.

The Public Opinion Strategies poll of 300 likely primary voters shows Davis ahead of Johnson City Mayor Phil Roe 61-20 overall and has a margin of error of 5.7 percent.

Davis won a crowded open-seat primary in 2006 with 22 percent of the vote. Roe finished fourth, with 17 percent, but he has Davis in a one-on-one match-up this time around.

Roe’s campaign emphasized that the poll was conducted in May, and the intensity of the campaign has picked up in recent days.

“The poll released by David Davis was conducted in May, before any advertising had begun,” said Roe spokeswoman Vicki Shell. “At that time, a poll conducted by the Phil Roe campaign showed that 70 percent of the voters in the 1st district didn’t know the name of their congressman.”

The primary is Aug. 7.

— A.B.

Virginia

Former Gov. Mark Warner (D) assured state Democrats this week that he would not desert his current Senate race in order to become Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) vice presidential nominee.

Much like Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D) did recently, Warner offered a Sherman-esque guarantee.

“I have been working really hard since last fall, and I am committed 110 percent to asking the people of Virginia to give me the honor of being elected their next United States senator,” Warner said, according to the Roanoke Times. “I have not sought and will not accept any other opportunity, because I want to serve in the United States Senate.”

Warner surprised many in late 2006 by opting against a presidential campaign of his own. He was also thought to be a strong vice presidential candidate until he entered the race for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. John Warner (R).

— A.B.