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

Fundraising totals from the first financial quarter show that state Sen. Andy Harris “is gaining momentum heading into the general election,” Chris Meekins, his campaign manager, told PolitickerMD.com.

Harris (R-Cockeysville) defeated incumbent Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R-Kennedyville) in the 1st Congressional District’s GOP primary and will face Queen Anne’s County State’s Attorney Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville) in the November election.

Information released Saturday by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) showed Harris raised $401,168.22 through the March 31 first quarter deadline, and has $205,688 cash on hand.

Kratovil raised $189,713.87 and has $182,058 cash on hand, according to the report.

Despite raising $211,454.35 more than Kratovil, Harris only has $23,630 more in cash on hand than his Democratic opponent.

Harris had to spend $570,000 near the end of his successful primary campaign against Gilchrest and state Sen. E.J. Pipkin (R-Stevensville), while Kratovil only spent $90,000 in the final weeks before his victory over Cambridge attorney Christopher Robinson.

“Our focus was on getting our message out to the voters,” Meekins said of the primary. “That’s what you do. In the end, we won.”

Meekins said the campaign has recently received a spike in online donations, and said fundraising events would soon continue.

“I am not too surprised to see that Harris has outraised (Kratovil) so far,” said Dr. Melissa Deckman, the chair of the Political Science department at Washington College in Chestertown.

“As far as I can tell, aside from (Rep. Roscoe) Bartlett in Western Maryland, who is in a safe seat, this is the only real viable Republican running for Congress in Maryland, so it's little wonder that he's attracting a lot of attention from GOP donors,” Deckman added. “Plus, he's really drawn from the party’s conservative base, unlike Gilchrest, so I suspect that many GOP donors are genuinely excited about his candidacy and views.”

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