While what I'll claim didn't hold true in the IL-14 race, I think it will apply to the MD-1 and MD-6 races. In Mississippi, like everywhere in the US, the voters are looking for some generic political change, and being from a place where everyone around them is a Republican, their way of getting that change was to vote for a Democrat. In general, they approve of the Republican platforms in a positive way that doesn't have anything to with them hating Democrats. In Maryland, where the Republicans are surrounded by Democrats, they will blame the Democrats for all the problems - I'm not saying there is or isn't justification for it, but most Maryland Republicans vote the way they do because they despise Democrats, not because they particularly like Republicans. We saw it in 2006 when Steele and Ehrlich each did amazingly well considering they were running in one of the most blue states in a very blue year. Also we saw it in a special election in Mass. a few months ago when the Democrat almost lost in a very democratic district. I give Kratovil a 20% chance of winning in MD-1 and Dougherty a 1% chance of winning MD-6 (with that 1% chance occurring if Bartlett joins Al Qaeda or murders someone the week of the election).