Lawyer and nonprofit executive Donna Edwards won a special election to become Maryland’s first black woman in Congress.

Edwards, who is a Democrat, beat Republican Peter James in the race to serve the remainder of Former Representative Albert R. Wynn’s term in the Fourth Congressional District.

Wynn, a 15-year House veteran, left office on May 31 to take a lobbying job in the capital after losing to Edwards in the February Democratic primary by 22 percentage points. After Wynn announced he no longer sought re-election, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley approved a bill to allow for a special election to be held to serve out Wynn's term.

“We're excited about the victory and Ms. Edwards looks forward to representing the people of Maryland's 4th Congressional District,” Campaign Communications Director Dan Weber told PolitickerMD.com.

Edwards is the first female Democrat from Maryland to serve in the House since Wynn took the seat in 1992.

The newly elected congresswoman is running a populist, anti-war campaign that is supported by several national liberal groups.

According to the Baltimore Sun, the special election had an estimated bill of $1.3 million, mostly for setting up polling stations and programming ballots.