Kratovil says Harris will ‘arguably raise more money than me'

State's Attorney Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville) admitted Thursday that he expects his 1st Congressional District opponent, state Sen. Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville) to outdo him in fundraising.

"Finances are good," Kratovil said in an interview with PolitickerMD.com. "I've always said that my expectation has always been that Harris based on his sort of big business support of mega-corporations and Club for Growth and those kinds of groups - my expectation has always been that he would raise a lot of money and arguably raise more money than me."

Kratovil continued: "My supporters have always been middle-class, working families, or groups and organizations that represent working families. And as a result I don't get the big money from big corporations and big business that I think he will."

The MD-1 Democratic nominee said he prefers to get money from the people that he personally wants to represent.

"Ya know I've got four boys," he said. "And when I'm talking to people about the problems with the economy and these concerns that everybody has - unlike a lot of people that run for office - I'm not talking about it in the abstract."

Kratovil went on: "I'm a public servant, a state's attorney, which means that I could be making a heck of a lot more money if I were out in the private practice, but I don't."

Kratovil also discussed his ability to obtain new supporters. He said that "demonstrating that my background has been one of bi-partisanship" would help him in this effort. "With my background as a prosecutor that's what I've had to do."

Elaborating further, Kratovil said: "People in this country are yearning for change, leadership not just nationally, but I think at the state levels too. I think they're tired of super partisan politics."

Kratovil also said that the addition of a new campaign manager didn't mean any major changes to his strategy. "I don't know that the strategy will change," Kratovil said, but added that "having somebody full-time, and somebody young and aggressive is good."

Frank Kratovil and Andy Harris are currently competing for Maryland's 1st Congressional District seat. The race is seen by some observers as one of the most competitive in the country. MD-1 includes 12 of the 24 counties in the state, which encompasses all of the Eastern Shore and portions of Harford and Baltimore counties.

According to Federal Election Commission records, Harris raised $401,168.22 through the March 31 first quarter deadline, and had $205,688 cash on hand. Kratovil raised $189,713.87 and had $182,058 cash on hand. Records for the second quarter fundraising period will be made public by the FEC on July 15.

ALSO on PolitickerMD.com:

• Harris wins CD-1 fundraising quarter, making up for costly primary

• Hoyer: Moderate Kratovil will win 1st District and work with party