With 4 days to go, O'Malley asks legislature to forgo special primary in MD-04

At his afternoon press conference, Gov. Martin O’Malley announced that he will ask the General Assembly to amend the state code or grant a special order allowing the Fourth District to hold a special general election without a special primary.

O’Malley is seeking the exception in light of a primary being held in the district so recently. On Feb. 12, Donna Edwards handily defeated Rep. Al Wynn, who last week announced his resignation from Congress, effective in June. The cost of a primary and general special election – estimated at almost $1 million each – is weighing heavily on the Governor’s decision to call for a special election, or allowing the seat to remain vacant until January.

According to Maryland state law, the Governor has ten days within learning of the resignation or the resignation itself to call a special election. Wynn announced his resignation six days ago on Thursday, March 28.

O’Malley has spoken with Majority Leader Steny Hoyer on the matter, and will consult with County Executives Ike Leggett and Jack Johnson of Montgomery and Prince Georges, respectively, over when the election should be held. The least costly option is to have it coincide with the November 4 general election. That way, Edwards could be sworn in as soon as the results are certified and receive seniority over at least 36 new House members.

A November special election would mean the district would only go without representation for a few weeks in September due to the congressional schedule. But O’Malley is quoted by AP’s Brian Witte saying, "I have a hard time thinking it's not important when you have a congressional seat that would be vacant for 25 percent of a two-year term at the same time that so many young people from Prince George's and other counties are coming back from Iraq in body bags in order to defend democracy."