SD-7

CENTREVILLE -- State Sen. Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville) said Monday he'll be running for Maryland's 1st Congressional District seat again in 2010, according to Queen Anne's County Republican Central Committee member Diana Waterman.

"Andy said Monday night he's gonna run again," Waterman said at Wednesday's Central Committee meeting at the Centreville Public Library.

WHITE MARSH -- After losing his bid for Maryland's 1st Congressional District seat, state Sen. Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville) is not ruling out a 2010 rematch.

"For right now I'm gonna pay attention to state Senate, but there is an election in two years and you never say never," Harris said at the Hilton Garden Inn Hotel Tuesday evening during his second press conference of the day. "Earlier today I called Frank Kratovil to congratulate him personally on his victory in this long and hard fought campaign and to wish him and his family well."

There's a second Republican plumber on the political scene this year.

Jim Berndt -- a member of the Baltimore County Republican Central Committee -- says he's had the nickname "Jim the Plumber," not to be confused with "Joe the Plumber," for at least four years.

The latter rose in prominence during the second presidential debate after an encounter with Barack Obama on the campaign trail in Ohio. Jim Berndt, meanwhile, is a licensed master plumber who's owned "Jim's Plumbing and Heating" since 1980. He currently employees two technicians and often uses his own time to lobby on behalf of the plumbing trade.

Jim "the Plumber" Berndt says he received a slew of emails after "Joe the Plumber" hit the political scene.

"What the hell's going on with Joe the Plumber?" Berndt paraphrased one email as saying. "You're the only plumber we know."

After six and a half weeks of being cut off from the outside world, Del. J.B. Jennings (R-Harford County) says the national and local political landscape has changed dramatically since he left.

When Jennings returned home on Monday after military basic training for the Maryland Air National Guard, he learned of an economic crisis and an extremely close race in Maryland's 1st Congressional District.

"It is like reading a history book of something that took place and realizing you were alive when it happened," Jennings told PolitickerMD.com. He says he was "cut off from the world" during training, and only allowed a single 3-to-5 minute phone call per week, which he usually missed because of the demands.

LUTHERVILLE -- If Republican Andy Harris is defeated in his bid for U.S. Congress, the state Republican Party has a problem, according to Sergio Vitale, a restaurant owner and unofficial state Senate candidate.

Harris, a state Senator from Cockeysville, is currently running against Democrat Frank Kratovil, the Queen Anne's County state Attorney, for Maryland's open 1st District seat. Vitale -- who has his sights on Harris's state Senate seat should he win -- says it's Harris's race to lose.

"If Andy doesn't get elected in that District then I think the party's got a problem," Vitale told PolitickerMD.com at the 42nd District Republican Club's Second Annual Spaghetti Dinner on Friday. Vitale suggests the District was "Parrismandered" to the GOP's advantage. "That's it. That's the last Alamo for the Republican Party."

U.S. Rep. Tom ColeU.S. Rep. Tom Cole (R-Oklahoma), the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, will join Republican Andy Harris for a fundraiser in Baltimore on Thursday.

Harris, a state Senator from Cockeysville, is currently running against Democrat Frank Kratovil, the Queen Anne's County state's Attorney, for Maryland's open 1st Congressional District seat.

The fundraiser will be held at Aldo's Italian Restaurant in Baltimore's Little Italy. The restaurant's owner, Sergio Vitale (R-Glen Arm), has expressed an interest in obtaining Harris's seat in the state Senate should he win in November. Vitale has already been aggressively fundraising for Harris and his own unofficial campaign.

BALTIMORE -- A Nov. 10 meeting to nominate state Sen. Andy Harris's successor, should Harris be elected to Congress, was moved to put more focus on getting Harris elected in the first place and not because of committee bylaws, according to Mike Geppi, chair of the Harford County Republican Central Committee.

If Harris (R-Cockeysville) defeats state's Attorney Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville) to win the 1st Congressional District seat, the Harford and Baltimore County Republican Central Committees will be required to elect a successor.

Chris Cavey -- chair of the Baltimore County Republican Central Committee -- said Monday the delay had little to do with Harris's prospects. Rather, Cavey argued, it was to ensure that the process goes smoothly to avoid any controversy with the rules and bylaws.

If Harris is elected, the rules state that a notice must go out 10 days prior to the interview, according to Cavey. He said it "would be a little unseemly" to advertise before election night.

Geppi's reasoning for the move, however, differed a bit from Cavey's.

BALTIMORE -- Former Del. Al Redmer (R-Baltimore County) wants Andy Harris's state Senate seat, but not as much as he wants to see Harris in Congress.

Should Harris (R-Cockeysville) defeat state's Attorney Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville) in the 1st Congressional District race, the Harford and Baltimore County Republican Central Committees will be required to elect a successor to Harris in the state Senate, and Redmer says he's the guy for the job.

"I've been there done that," Redmer told PolitickerMD.com at a fundraiser for his unofficial campaign Tuesday morning. "I've got the background and experience to lead immediately upon taking office."

Redmer says getting Harris elected to Congress is his top priority.

BALTIMORE -- Republican Andy Harris says his campaign has polls that suggest the 1st Congressional District race is going to be very close.

"The polls are within the margin of error, whether it's his poll, my poll," Harris said Tuesday morning during a speech at a fundraiser for former Del. Al Redmer (R-Baltimore County). "The race is gonna be close nationally and it's gonna be close in the district. There's no question about it."

Should state. Sen. Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville) defeat state's Attorney Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville) to win the 1st Congressional District seat in November, the Harford and Baltimore County Republican Central Committees will be required to elect a successor.

The original plan was to confirm Harris's replacement on Nov. 10, however, this is no longer the case. While the meeting itself is not being canceled, the motion to decide on a successor is.

Chris Cavey, chair of the Baltimore County Republican Central Committee, says the delay has little to do with Harris's prospects. Rather, it is to ensure that the process goes smoothly.