LARGO - In her victory speech tonight, Donna Edwards returned to what has been the central focus of her campaign: changing the ways of Washington.

“Today voters went to the polls and they voted for change,” Edwards said to jubilant supporters at the Radisson Largo.

With 58% of the precincts reporting, Edwards led eight-term incumbent Al Wynn by a large 59%-36% margin in the race for Congressional District 4.

Edwards said that voters were looking for a candidate who represented their interests in Congress.

“When voters went out and voted, they voted for what they were looking for,” Edwards said.

In her speech, Edwards said she had received a call from Wynn, who told her, she said, that he wanted to work towards a “seamless transition.”

With the votes still being counted, Edwards aides said they had not yet counted the numbers. But the general feeling among those here this evening was that Edwards succeeded in stealing away voters that had supported Wynn in previous elections.

“I was looking (at voters) around the Beltway,” Edwards campaign manager Adrienne Christiansen said, adding that Wynn enjoyed support in those areas. “That was the first domino.”

The campaign also believes they won voters that backed Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who won the Maryland primary by an overwhelming 60%-37% margin over Hillary Clinton.

Edwards’ focus on change, which aligns closely with Obama’s campaign theme, resonates with voters in the district, much as it does around the country, explained Edwards supporter and OpenLeft.com blogger Matt Stoller.

“People are mad,” Stoller said, adding he believes voters are looking for someone who will offer something different.

Speaking to reporters after her speech here tonight, Edwards said much the same.

“People in the district are speaking up,” she said. “I was able to convey to (voters) that I understood what they face.”

Edwards’ victory tonight has a dose of revenge mixed in. In her 2006 run for the seat, Edwards failed to overpower Wynn.

“We had a much more sophisticated operation (this time),” Edwards said. “We had more time, we had more resources.”