Dandrea James-Harris said she asked around before casting her vote for Edwards.
"From what I hear, she seems to be a person with influence, intellect and experience," said James-Harris, a 46-year-old Heart & Soul magazine editorial assistant.
Though the elections took place in politically, demographically and geographically disparate districts, they had much in common. Both turned nasty, and both could signal the mood of the nation's political parties on the eve of a pivotal election.
Edwards tried to paint Wynn as out of step with the progressive voters of the district and beholden to the oil and banking interests that have helped to bankroll his election operation.
Pipkin and Harris hammered on Gilchrest as one of two Republicans to vote with House Democrats for a timetable for withdrawing American troops from Iraq, bombarding voters with negative television and radio advertisements and direct mail.
The 1st District race appeared to mirror the national soul-searching of the Republican Party as it seeks to define itself in the post-Bush era. Harris, a stalwart Republican lawmaker in Annapolis, often said he was the best candidate to represent Ronald Reagan's "three-legged stool" of social, fiscal and foreign policy conservatism.
But Gilchrest supporters highlighted his willingness to work across party lines on environmental and foreign policy issues.
Nation's mood
The 4th District race also drew national attention from political analysts looking for signs of the mood of the electorate.
"It is possible that it is part of a larger, anti-incumbent trend," said Jennifer Palmieri of the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank based in Washington. "If, in fact, she prevails, it will be the combination of the Edwards and [Barack] Obama message of change that would have put her over the top.
"Barack Obama and a good challenger can be a deadly combination for incumbents."
bradley.olson@baltsun.com matthew.brown@baltsun.com
Sun reporters Chris Guy, Nicole Fuller and Madison Park contributed to this article.
