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‘‘Today the voters went to the polls looking for change. They selected a new leadership that will finally put the public’s interest first,” Edwards, a Fort Washington resident, told supporters. ‘‘I will wake up every morning and ask, ‘What can I do to make a difference in people’s lives?’”

In Prince George’s County, with 54 of the district’s 110 precincts reporting, Edwards polled 20,865, or 55 percent, to Wynn’s 16,002, or 42 percent.

In Montgomery County, with 38 of the district’s 69 precincts reporting, Edwards did even better. She collected 11,978 votes, or 66.8 percent, compared to Wynn’s 4,945, or 27.5 percent.

Four other challengers — Michael Babula, Jason Jennings, George E. McDermott and George E. Mitchell — vied for the seat. None had won more than 1.5 percent of the vote in either county.

Incumbents in Montgomery’s other congressional districts appeared to be doing well.

U.S. Rep. Christopher Van Hollen (D-Dist. 8) handily defeated Deborah A. Vollmer. In Montgomery, with 143 of 170 precincts reporting, he polled 88.5 percent to 8.7 percent. In Prince George’s, where seven of 10 precincts had reported results, he won 77.9 percent to 18.5 percent. A third candidate, Lih Young of Rockville, received less than 4 percent of the vote in either county.

U.S. Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett (R-Dist. 6) of Buckeystown was leading in the counties reporting. Democrats appeared to be headed to choosing former Frederick Mayor Jennifer P. Dougherty as their candidate in the November general election.

The 4th District race was one of the most closely watched in the country.

Edwards faced Wynn in 2006 and lost by only 2,800 votes.

A lawyer and social activist, Edwards has touted her community service work throughout her campaign while criticizing Wynn, who was seeking his ninth term, for his lack of constituent service. She portrayed Wynn as an ally of the Bush administration because of votes he said he made to support small business. She faulted his vote to support the war in Iraq, a vote he has since said he regretted.

Wynn dredged up Edwards’ personal tax problems. His campaign manager filed a Federal Elections Commission complaint that Edwards skirted campaign finance laws by using her position with the nonprofit Arca Foundation to boost her coffers.

As results were only just being reported, Wynn remained confident.

‘‘I’m feeling great. I worked the polls just about all day. I think the response is going to be overwhelming. People understand the work that I’ve done, and they don’t like the negativity of my opponent,” he said at the Lanham offices of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 26.

After speaking with reporters, he retreated to a back room with family.

The early returns disappointed Brian Austin, who grew up two houses away from Wynn.

‘‘She has run a negative campaign. Looking at her literature, it was more about what he wasn’t doing, as opposed to what she would do,” he said.

Edwards, however, appealed to some voters.

‘‘She seems most concerned with workers’ rights and mid- and lower income people and women struggling to provide for their families,” said Patricia McCormick, a voter from Silver Spring. ‘‘I feel like she was more concerned with hard-working people.”

Fourth District Republicans chose Peter James over three others with 37.6 percent of the vote in Montgomery and 39.6 percent in Prince GeorgeÕs.

The 4th District includes northern and eastern portions of Montgomery County, and western and southern Prince GeorgeÕs County.

The 8th District, on the other hand, includes most of southern and western Montgomery County and a sliver of Prince GeorgeÕs County along the Montgomery-District of Columbia line.

The 4th and 8th are heavily Democratic.

In the District 8 Republican contest, surgeon and lawyer Steve Hudson ran ahead in a field of five with 37.5 percent in Montgomery and 42.3 percent in Prince GeorgeÕs.

Staff Writer Alan Brody contributed to this report.