Maryland progressive activist Donna Edwards upset veteran Congressman Al Wynn in a Democratic “fight for the soul of the party” primary, confirming that sentiment for change extends well beyond the presidential race. The incumbent had voted to authorize Bush’s Iraq War, endorsed Dick Cheney’s energy bill, sided with corporations to gut environmental programs and supported bankruptcy “reforms” that bashed consumers. Backed by the Service Employees International Union, the Sierra Club, EMILY’s List and Progressive Democrats of America, Edwards did not merely promise to be a better Democrat than Wynn. The former executive director of the Center for a New Democracy pledged to push her party and Congress to reject triangulation in favor of unapologetic challenges to the status quo. Her 60-to-36 percent victory makes a great start for an election year when Democratic primary voters will have plenty of opportunities to demand that candidates share their progressive values. Let’s hope Edwards is right when she says, “This is only the beginning.”