Wynn kicks off ’08 race

Organizers were optimistic about reaching their fundraising goal of $250,000 from that event alone, to put toward a race that has already attracted challengers.

Fort Washington attorney and activist Donna Edwards, who came within three points of beating Wynn in last year’s primary, quietly filed to run again in April. So did Prince George’s real estate agent and first-time candidate George Mitchell.

Wynn and Edwards have been holding town hall meetings and listening to constituents’ concerns throughout the district, which spans parts of Prince George’s and Montgomery counties.

Wynn’s Upper Marlboro breakfast was the first in a trio of kickoff activities looking toward the Feb. 12, 2008, primary. He was scheduled to hold a campaign event at the Shady Grove Metro Station in Gaithersburg at 9 a.m. Monday, and then at the Silver Spring Metro Station at 10:30 a.m. The stops in Montgomery County reflect a new push to reach out to voters in that section of his district, which voted overwhelmingly for Edwards in the last election.

‘‘Al Wynn is clearly supercharging his campaign,” Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot said at Friday’s breakfast. He’s already endorsing Wynn for his ninth term in office.

But Edwards is trying to build on the momentum from last year. She has said she plans to raise $1 million (that’s triple last year’s war chest) from donors across the nation. And she has already signed on a campaign manager – an asset she lacked last year, when she was a first-time candidate.

Mitchell said he’s not intimidated by Wynn’s kickoff fanfare.

‘‘Al is not a bad guy,” Mitchell said. ‘‘But the situation is, people are just disgruntled, and it’s time for a change.”