Polling rumors float at Kratovil fundraiser

Update 

EASTON -- Congressional candidate Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville) says he believes his campaign is tied with Republican Andy Harris's.

"The most recent ones showed us at 36, tied at 36," said Kratovil of Harris's camp at a Friday night fundraiser.

Kratovil was referencing an internal poll released last month by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

"There was a rumor that he [Harris] did an internal one and it showed us even better than that," Kratovil told PolitickerMD.com. "But you know -- that's rumors."

In an interview with PolitickerMD.com, Harris's campaign manager, Chris Meekins said the rumors were untrue.

"He's dreaming," said Meekins. 

The Queen Anne's County state's attorney said he hadn't seen any other polls besides the DCCC's, but added his campaign is planning on conducting a survey of its own.

Over the summer, the Harris campaign released an internal poll showing him ahead of Kratovil by 16 points.

Kratovil's campaign manager, Tim McCann, doesn't believe that's the case at all.

"The polls are showing this is a dead heat. Everything we're seeing on the ground is indicating the same thing," McCann told PolitickerMD.com. "Momentum is on our side."

McCann declined to comment on whether he had seen any other polls besides the DCCC's.

Kratovil and Harris are currently competing for Maryland's 1st Congressional District seat. The 1st District includes 12 of the 23 counties in the state, which encompasses all of the Eastern Shore and portions of Harford, Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties.

The Kratovil-Harris race is ranked the 51st most competitive U.S. House race in the nation on Politicker.com's Pindell Report. Politicker.com Managing Editor James Pindell lists the race as "Leans Republican."

Over 50 people attended the fundraiser hosted by Republican Anne Kimberly - the widow of former U.S. Rep. Rogers Morton (R-Talbot County). There was no specific ticket price, according to the Kratovil campaign.

In addition to representing Maryland's 1st District, Morton served as chair of the Republican National Committee for about three years, secretary of the interior for four years and secretary of commerce for two years in the Nixon and Ford administrations. He died in 1979 at age 65.