Having lost their primaries for re-nomination last month, Maryland Reps. Al Wynn, a Democrat, and Wayne Gilchrest, a Republican, are handling their defeats in very different ways. Gilchrest has virtually refused to endorse the man who defeated him, State Senator Andy Harris, and is openly flirting with backing the Democratic challenger. Wynn, meanwhile, is resigning from Congress to help out community activist Donna Edwards, who beat him in mid-February.

Wynn will leave Congress in June to join Dickstein Shapiro LLP, a top Washington law firm and lobbying shop, he announced yesterday, per the Baltimore Sun. A law school classmate of the firm's chairman, Wynn will join five other former members of Congress already on staff.

Wynn also said by leaving early and hoping for Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley to set a special election, he will help Edwards gain seniority over other incoming freshmen, a valuable resource that Wynn, who understands the importance of longevity in Congress, knows all about.

O'Malley has ten days to decide whether to call the special election or leave the seat vacant until November. A special election would cost Montgomery and Prince George's Counties somewhere around $2 million, according to the Sun. One option the state could opt for is to hold the election concurrently with November's general election, giving Edwards a two-month head start on her freshman Democratic peers.

The most junior Democrat in the House is Bill Foster, who won a special election in Illinois to replace retired Speaker Dennis Hastert. Other special elections set for later this year will yield still more junior members from Louisiana, Mississippi and California, but getting Edwards elected in November will allow her to leap ahead of freshmen who will win election in 32 open seats around the country and any candidates who knock off incumbents.