Caligiuri blasts Harris

Gilchrest Chief Lambasts "Hollow Campaign"

Tony Caligiuri, the chief of staff to Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, blasted the rival campaign of state Sen. Andy Harris during an interview today with PolitickerMD.com.

"(Harris) has done nothing but run a negative campaign," Caligiuri said. "He has absolutely no message. This is the most hollow campaign I have ever seen in politics."

Gilchrest and Harris are joined by state Sen. E.J. Pipkin in the primary battle for the Republican nomination in Maryland's First Congressional District.

In the campaign, Harris has attempted to position himself to the political right of the more moderate Gilchrest, saying in ads that he hopes to bring "consistent conservative leadership" to Congress. His campaign has accused Gilchrest and Pipkin of being "two tax and spend peas in a giant liberal pod."

"When you run a campaign like (Harris'), people kind of turn it off," Caligiuri said. "It makes you irrelevant to people in their daily lives."

For their part, the Harris campaign was quick to respond, calling the comments "desperate."

"This is a desperate attack from a candidate that is desperate for votes," Chris Meekins, Harris' campaign manager, said.

"The fact is, we have been comparing and contrasting the records of Andy and Wayne," Meekins said. "The voters will see that Andy is the only true conservative in this race."

Meekins specifically referred to Harris' conservatism on issues ranging from the war in Iraq to illegal immigration.

Caligiuri was far less critical of Pipkin, saying that the senator had run "a largely positive campaign."

However, Caligiuri did say that he had "not heard much from the Pipkin campaign."

"They have not been very active," he later added. "I would expect (Pipkin) to spend some of his money soon."

The Pipkin campaign could not be reached for immediate comment.

In addition, Caligiuri said that he expected the race to be "very close."