Chris Meekins

State's Attorney Frank KratovilKratovil Campaign Manager Tim McCann dismissed the results of a Harris campaign internal poll which showed Harris carrying a sizeable lead in the 1st Congressional District.

The poll showed state Sen. Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville) with a 16 point lead over State's Attorney Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville).

“As Andy’s campaign manger himself said a few months back, ‘Internal polls can be skewed one way or the other.’ Our internal numbers paint a different picture so I'm not particularly worried about this small-sample poll,” wrote McCann in an email to PolitickerMD.com.

State's Attorney Frank KratovilState’s Attorney Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville) is criticizing his MD-1 opponent’s commitment to protecting Ocean City’s beaches. The criticism comes just a day after state Sen. Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville) told a crowd at a fundraiser Tuesday to “just say no to earmarks.”

“Ocean City’s beaches are a billion-dollar economic engine that generate thousands of jobs for hard-working Maryland families,” said Kratovil in a statement.

State Sen. Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville) announced his energy plan during a speech before the Salisbury Chamber of Commerce this afternoon. The GOP nominee in Maryland's 1st Congressional District, Harris, a physician, called his proposal a "prescription for the pain at the pump," pledging to "take the lead in fighting against these out of control gas prices."

"Working families should not be forced to decide whether to fill up the gas tank or put food on their table," Harris said.

The campaigns of State's Attorney Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville) and state Sen. Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville) reacted today to Wednesday's news that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has added Kratovil to their Red to Blue program.

"I think it is an indicator that the Kratovil campaign is doing the right things and national Democrats believe Frank can win," Erik Gulbrandsen, communications director for the Kratovil campaign, told PolitickerMD.com.

Kratovil was among 14 candidates added to the program yesterday. The DCCC provides financial, strategic, and communications support to those candidates on the list with the hope of putting Republican seats in the Democratic column.

Appearing as a guest on the Delmarva Today radio show June 13, State's Attorney Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville), a Democrat running in the 1st Congressional District, expressed his opposition to lifting a federal ban on offshore oil drilling, calling instead for the country to use "what we have now."

Today, Kratovil Communications Director Erik Gulbrandsen told PolitickerMD.com that Kratovil supports two pieces of recently introduced congressional legislation, the Responsible Ownership of Public Lands Act and the Responsible Federal Oil and Gas Lease Act of 2008, which, according to House Democrats, would "compel oil companies to utilize the 68 million acres onshore and offshore that are being leased by big oil companies, but not used to produce energy."

Believe it or not, the last day of the first half of the year is only two weeks away. In this immensely exciting campaign year, we now stand only 140 days away from Election Day. The close of June signifies the end of the second financial quarter, and the fundraising totals in Maryland's 1st Congressional District are vital to the hopes of State's Attorney Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville) and state Sen. Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville).

In the first quarter of the year Harris raised $401,168.22 and had $205,688 cash on hand, while Kratovil raised $189,713.87 and had $182,058 cash on hand. Those figures were slightly skewed because of a $20,000 loan that Harris provided to his campaign fund. Harris was forced to spend significantly more than Kratovil in the final weeks of his successful primary, which led to the similar cash on hand figure.

Recently, Kratovil told PolitickerMD.com that his campaign would make "no projections" as to their second quarter fundraising abilities, saying, "We'll raise enough to be competitive."

Harford County Exec. David Craig: Politicker PhotoClaims GOP Unity

HAVRE DE GRACE-- State Sen. Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville) held a fundraiser before the Harford County Conservative Business Caucus in the ballroom of the Bulle Rock Golf Course in Havre de Grace, this evening.

Harris, the GOP nominee in Maryland's 1st Congressional District, was joined by Harford County Executive David Craig (R) and former Gov. Bob Ehrlich (R), along with a crowd of roughly 60 supporters.

Campaign Manager Chris Meekins told PolitickerMD.com prior to the event that the campaign expected to raise between 40 and $50,000 for the evening.

"The fact of the matter is, you have to raise money," Harris said, addressing the audience.

"You need about $1.2 million to do this," he added. "We're about halfway there."

After a bruising contest that saw negative attack ads and arguments about contributions from political action committees, state Sen. Andy Harris defeated nine-term incumbent Rep. Wayne Gilchrest  and state Sen. E.J. Pipkin in the Feb. 12 GOP primary in Maryland's 1st Congressional District.

Since that time, Gilchrest has been highly critical of Harris, leading many to believe that he may endorse the Democratic candidate, Frank Kratovil. His longtime aide, Lynn Caligiuri, joined the Kratovil campaign in April as a finance coordinator. Harris picked-up Pipkin's endorsement.

Despite the divisions between the incumbent congressman and the party's nominee, Harris Campaign Manager Chris Meekins told PolitickerMD.com today that Republicans are "unified behind Andy Harris."

State Sen. Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville) leads State's Attorney Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville) by nine points in Maryland's 1st Congressional District, according to a new survey conducted by the Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group for the Kratovil campaign.

Harris was favored by 43 percent of respondents, while Kratovil garnered 34 percent, with 23 percent undecided.

Kratovil, however, led by a margin of 45-38 among the 25 percent of respondents who recognized the candidate's names.

In Maryland's 1st Congressional District, state Sen. Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville) and State's Attorney Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville) each held picnic-style events over the weekend charging roughly $25 a head for adults.

For Kratovil, the Sunday gathering came four days after a Chestertown-based fundraiser, which drew a crowd of roughly 40 people and netted just under $20,000 for the campaign, according to Campaign Manager Steve Meehan.

Meehan was particularly impressed with what he called a "mixed bag of Republicans and Democrats" that were present at the fundraiser.