Albert Russell Wynn (born September 10, 1951) is an American lobbyist and former politician who served as a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, representing the 4th district of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

from 1993 to 2008. On February 13, 2008, Wynn was defeated in the Democratic primary by Donna Edwards, and resigned his office effective May 31, 2008.

Early life and education

Wynn was born in

Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Montgomery County, colloquially referred to as Montco, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 856,553, making it the third-most populous county in Pennsylvania after Philadel ...

. He was educated at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

, and

Georgetown University Law Center Georgetown University Law Center is the Law school in the United States, law school of Georgetown University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law ...

. While attending the University of Pittsburgh, Wynn was initiated as a member of the Beta Epsilon chapter of

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911, at Indiana University Bloomington, it has n ...

fraternity. Soon after graduating, Wynn became director of the Prince George's County Consumer Protection Commission. In 1982, he founded his own law firm. He then spent a decade in the

Maryland General Assembly The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives, and the lower ...

, serving in the state house from 1983 to 1987 and in the

state senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...

from 1987 to 1993.

Career

Wynn entered the Democratic primary for the 4th District in 1992. The 4th had been reconfigured as a black-majority district after the 1990 Census, and the previous incumbent, three-term Democrat

Tom McMillen Charles Thomas McMillen (born May 26, 1952) is an American politician, businessman, and former professional basketball player. A Rhodes Scholar, McMillen represented Maryland's 4th congressional district from January 3, 1987, to January 3, 1993 ...

, 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 the

House Energy and Commerce Committee The Committee on Energy and Commerce is one of the oldest standing committees of the United States House of Representatives. Established in 1795, it has operated continuously—with various name changes and jurisdictional changes—for more tha ...

, where he chaired the Subcommittee on the Environment and Hazardous Materials. Wynn placed a high priority on economic issues. Wynn also supported the energy bill promoted by Vice President and former Halliburton CEO Dick Cheney. During the 105th Congress, Wynn sponsored legislation passed to improve federal contracting opportunities for small and minority businesses. He has twice received the

Small Business Administration The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the United States government that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and str ...

''Administrator'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 respect

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

women. He left me for the

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

woman." During the

107th Congress The 107th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January ...

, Wynn was one of only four of 36

Congressional Black Caucus The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is made up of Black members of the United States Congress. Representative Yvette Clarke from New York, the current chairperson, succeeded Steven Horsford from Nevada in 2025. Although most members belong ...

members who voted on October 10, 2002 for the

joint resolution In the United States Congress, a joint resolution is a legislative measure that requires passage by the Senate and the House of Representatives and is presented to the president for their approval or disapproval. Generally, there is no legal diffe ...

authorizing the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

. The other three Congressional Black Caucus members who voted for the resolution authorizing the Iraq War were Bill Jefferson of

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, Sanford Bishop of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, and Harold Ford, Jr. of

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. Wynn also served on the Congressional Black Caucus' Political Action Committee and its Minority Business Task Force. Wynn has issued statements of support for integrating illegal aliens into society, so long as strong border security provisions are included. He spoke at the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Immigration Rally in April 2006, condemning H. 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."

2006 congressional elections

In 2006, he was challenged in the Democratic primary by community activist Donna Edwards, most recently executive director of the Arca 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 the Bankruptcy 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 ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' 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.

2008 congressional elections

Edwards sought a rematch in 2008. This time, Edwards won the backing of the influential MoveOn.org. Edwards also had the support of many progressive community organizations, and many influential netroots organizations such as

Daily Kos Daily Kos ( ) is a group blog and internet forum focused on the U.S. Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party and Modern liberalism in the United States, liberal American politics. The site publishes blog posts, polls, election and cam ...

and OpenLeft. In the primary, Edwards routed Wynn, 60 percent to 36 percent.

Resignation

On March 27, 2008, Wynn announced his resignation from Congress effective in June. 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.

Post-congressional career

He became a partner of Dickstein Shapiro, a large

lobbying Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agency, regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by va ...

firm whose clients include the tobacco, entertainment, energy, and software industries as well as the

Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) is a trade union, labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of the Team Drivers International Union and the Teamsters National Union, the union now represents a di ...

. 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.

Election history

!Year !Office !Election ! !Subject !Party !Votes !% ! !Opponent !Party !Votes !% ! !Opponent !Party !Votes !% , - ,

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, Congress, 4th district , General , , , Al Wynn , , Democratic , , 136,902 , , 75.14 , , , Michelle Dyson , , Republican , , 45,166 , , 24.79 , , colspan=4, , - ,

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, Congress, 4th district , General , , , Al Wynn , , Democratic , , 93,148 , , 75.03 , , , Michelle Dyson , , Republican , , 30,999 , , 24.97 , , colspan=4, , - ,

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, Congress, 4th district , General , , , Al Wynn , , Democratic , , 142,094 , , 85.19 , , , John B. Kimble , , Republican , , 24,700 , , 14.81 , , colspan=4, , - ,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, Congress, 4th district , General , , , Al Wynn , , Democratic , , 129,139 , , 85.72 , , , John B. Kimble , , Republican , , 21,518 , , 14.28 , , colspan=4, , - ,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, Congress, 4th district , General , , , Al Wynn , , Democratic , , 172,624 , , 87.2 , , , John B. Kimble , , Republican , , 24,973 , , 12.61 , , colspan=4, , - ,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, Congress, 4th district , General , , , Al Wynn , , Democratic , , 131,644 , , 78.57 , , , John B. Kimble , , Republican , , 34,890 , , 20.82 , , colspan=4, , - ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, Congress, 4th district , General , , , Al Wynn , , Democratic , , 196,809 , , 75.16 , , , John McKinnis , , Republican , , 52,907 , , 20.2 , , , Theresa Dudley , ,

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

, , 11,885 , , 4.54 , - ,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, Congress, 4th district , Primary , , , Al Wynn , , Democratic , , 40,857 , , 49.7 , , , Donna Edwards , , Democratic , , 38,126 , , 46.4 , , , George McDermott , , Democratic , , 3,200 , , 3.9 , - , 2006 , Congress, 4th district , General , , , Al Wynn , , Democratic , , 141,897 , , 80.67 , , , Michael Moshe Starkman , , Republican , , 32,792 , , 18.64 , , colspan=4, , - ,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, Congress, 4th district , Primary , , , Al Wynn , , Democratic , , 48,885 , , 36.9 , , , Donna Edwards , , Democratic , , 78,008 , , 58.9 , , , Others , , Democratic , , 5,641 , , 4.2

References

External links

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wynn, Albert 1951 births African-American members of the United States House of Representatives Georgetown University Law Center alumni Living people Democratic Party Maryland state senators Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates Politicians from Philadelphia University of Pittsburgh alumni Howard University alumni African-American state legislators in Maryland Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland People from Mitchellville, Maryland The Graduate School of Political Management faculty Baptists from Maryland Members of Congress who became lobbyists 20th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives