Steve Meehan

Believe it or not, the last day of the first half of the year is only two weeks away. In this immensely exciting campaign year, we now stand only 140 days away from Election Day. The close of June signifies the end of the second financial quarter, and the fundraising totals in Maryland's 1st Congressional District are vital to the hopes of State's Attorney Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville) and state Sen. Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville).

In the first quarter of the year Harris raised $401,168.22 and had $205,688 cash on hand, while Kratovil raised $189,713.87 and had $182,058 cash on hand. Those figures were slightly skewed because of a $20,000 loan that Harris provided to his campaign fund. Harris was forced to spend significantly more than Kratovil in the final weeks of his successful primary, which led to the similar cash on hand figure.

Recently, Kratovil told PolitickerMD.com that his campaign would make "no projections" as to their second quarter fundraising abilities, saying, "We'll raise enough to be competitive."

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) reported having $45,274,642.96 in cash on hand at the end of April, according to reports filed yesterday with the Federal Election Commission, while the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) reported 6,734,530.11 cash on hand.

The stark difference could be significant in Maryland's First Congressional District, where state Sen. Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville) and State's Attorney Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville) are expected to be in a competitive race.

Steve Meehan, deputy campaign manager for 1st Congressional District candidate Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville), expressed confidence today that the campaign could financially compete with rival Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville).

Yesterday, we reported on Harris' confidence in his campaigns ability to "raise between 3 and $400,000" per financial quarter.

Comparing fundraising to "a game of golf," Meehan told PolitickerMD.com, "You have to continuously advance the ball."

Acknowledging that Harris "has been good" at raising funds, Meehan said he did not know if the campaign could draw-even with their opponent financially, but said, "We're working very hard."

In Maryland's 1st Congressional District, state Sen. Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville) and State's Attorney Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville) each held picnic-style events over the weekend charging roughly $25 a head for adults.

For Kratovil, the Sunday gathering came four days after a Chestertown-based fundraiser, which drew a crowd of roughly 40 people and netted just under $20,000 for the campaign, according to Campaign Manager Steve Meehan.

Meehan was particularly impressed with what he called a "mixed bag of Republicans and Democrats" that were present at the fundraiser.