Maryland's First Congressional District

Del. D. Page Elmore (R-Salisbury) gathered a large group of supporters to celebrate his 69th birthday and do a little fundraising at the Somers Cove Marina in Crisfield, today. It was the delegate's fourth annual crab and pork feast.

"It gives me the opportunity to see a lot of my constituents," Elmore told PolitickerMD.com prior to the event. "It's the first crab feast of the year and people have been waiting for the crabs."

"We don't do a lot of political talk," he added.

The delegate, who is not up for re-election until 2010, said roughly 400 tickets had been sold at a cost of $40 per person.

After a bruising contest that saw negative attack ads and arguments about contributions from Political Action Committees (PAC's), state Sen. Andy Harris defeated nine-term incumbent Rep. Wayne Gilchrest  and state Sen. E.J. Pipkin in the Feb. 12 GOP primary in Maryland's First Congressional District.

Since that time, Gilchrest has been highly critical of Harris, leading many to believe that he may endorse the Democratic candidate, Frank Kratovil. His longtime aide, Lynn Caligiuri, joined the Kratovil campaign in April as a finance coordinator.

Del. Pat McDonough (R-Middle River) confirmed that he has "great" interest in seeking the position of county executive for Baltimore County in 2010.

"I think it is the second most powerful position in the state," McDonough said of Baltimore County executive, "behind only the governor."

Saying he would have the authority "to get things done" on issues ranging from education to "deteriorating neighborhoods," McDonough said his "high name recognition" and ability to "get Democratic voters" would increase his chances at winning.  

According to a new poll just released, state Sen. Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville) leads State's Attorney Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville) by nine points in Maryland's First Congressional District, Harris was favored by 43 percent of respondents, while Kratovil garnered 34 percent, with 23 percent undecided. Kratovil, however, led by a margin of 45-38 among the 25 percent of respondents who recognized the candidate's names.

An internal Kratovil poll, the survey was conducted by the The Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group among 400 likely voters from April 23-24 and comes with a 5-point margin of error.

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."

American 'Gotcha'

Related: Harris calls Kratovil a ‘Prince George’s machine Democrat’ and Kratovil calls notion he’s a liberal ‘ridiculous,’ refers to Harris as ‘an extremist’

State Sen. Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville) told PolitickerMD.com that he was "not concerned" about the lack of funding his congressional campaign is expecting to receive from the financially strapped National Republican Congressional Committee.

"I've always been able to raise funds in state Senate," Harris said, adding, "I've been near the top in money raised among Republicans."

The NRCC spent $1.27 million, nearly 20 percent of their cash on hand, on last Tuesday's special election in Mississippi's 1st Congressional District, where the Democratic candidate prevailed. The committee has spent more than $3 million, all in losing efforts, in its attempts to hold GOP seats in Illinois, Louisiana and Mississippi.

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.

Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville), responding to our interview with Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville), said the notion that he is liberal is "ridiculous when you consider my background."

"When you talk to people in Annapolis and around the state-they do not consider me a liberal," Kratovil said.

Speaking with PolitickerMD.com earlier today, Harris referred to Kratovil as a "Prince George's machine Democrat," referencing his opponent's younger days in the heavily Democratic county.

"Everyone is considered a liberal to Harris," Kratovil said, calling the state senator "an extremist."

"What I talk about are facts," Kratovil said. "I've been a prosecutor since 1995. My job, my entire professional career, has been putting people in jail and locking them up."