It took a truly unfortunate incident last week to awaken the Washington media to the fact that there really is a Democratic primary taking place right under its collective noses.

For months, challenger Donna Edwards has been trying to make the case that incumbent Al Wynn as cast important votes with Republicans, on issues ranging from the war to Medicare to bankruptcy to telecom. But instead of looking at it as a story, the "she can't win" mentality ruled. Until last Wednesday.

Edwards and Wynn were due to participate in a debate, along with many others, at the Prince George's Community College in Largo, MD, on Aug. 16. Edwards' troops got their first and planted signs in the best locations. Wynn's came later, and began putting signs right in front of the Edwards ones.

An Edwards volunteer, a 57-year-old accountant, objected. By all accounts except for Wynn's, what happened next was not in doubt. Two of Wynn's campaign staff, including one person who works for his Congressional office, beat up the Edwards volunteer. His face was bloodied. Two Wynn volunteers, including the staffer, were led away in handcuffs.

One of the Edwards volunteers shot this video, which shows the aftermath. Note the smirks. Wynn, somewhat thuggishly, described the incident to reporters as "self defense" in which the Edwards team started an altercation and "got the worst of it."

The next day at a news conference, the man's injuries were clear. Wynn could have admitted the error and apologized, but chose a different path. It literally took blood in the water to get the media interested. The TV cameras swarmed like sharks after the bait. Meanwhile, some people started to notice there was actually a campaign going on, as Edwards got great reviews for her performance.

The aftermath was that voters started looking more closely at Wynn's record of siding with the Republican leadership on any number of important issues, ranging from the war to bankruptcy, medicare and telecom policy. Edwards is raising money and campaigning like crazy. She has put the incumbent on the defensive. One hopes the media will continue to follow the campaign once the fight story dies down. I'm not optimistic, but you never know. I'd love to be wrong. Some attention from national press wouldn't hurt, either.

The question all the hard-eyed political pros ask is, "Can she win?" No doubt it will be uphill, but the answer is yes, it's possible, in large part because of the makeup of the district. The 4th Congressional District was created four years ago to make it possible for Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) in the neighboring 8th to knock out the venerable Connie Morella.

The district has two distinct parts. There's a large piece in Prince George's County, the majority-black jurisdiction, and a slightly smaller section in eastern Montgomery County, the mostly white but increasingly mixed area, which had been represented by Morella. Prince George's boasts the most affluent black population in the country. (Parts of Montgomery in the district are well off, but nothing like the really wealthy sections in the adjacent disrict.)

At a recent picnic, voters told Donna something fascinating. Montgomery County voters (of which I am one) think Wynn is ignoring us, preferring to be the boss of Prince George's County. Voters there think he's ignoring Prince George's County, tending instead to Montgomery. The result is that neither side seems particularly happy, which is bad news for Wynn and great news for Edwards.

The voters know Wynn in Prince George's County, for good or ill, as he represented them before the redistricting. Most of the voters in Montgomery don't. And the more Edwards campaigns in Montgomery, and gets the word out about Wynn's record, the more support she picks up. A strong showing in Montgomery, coupled with the ability to slice off about 20% of Wynn's support in Prince George's County could produce a stunning result -- a progressive Democrat, Donna Edwards, elected to Congress.