A sweet score for Democrat Frank Kratovil:
Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest, ousted after nine terms in a bitter Republican primary campaign last winter, will cross party lines today to endorse Democrat Frank M. Kratovil Jr. in the 1st Congressional District.
A senior member of Gilchrest’s staff confirmed yesterday that the veteran lawmaker – who earned a reputation as a staunch environmentalist who frequently clashed with Republican Party leaders – will join Kratovil, an Eastern Shore prosecutor, at appearances today in Annapolis and Easton.
Gilchrest succeeded for nearly a decade in the far-flung district, which covers the Eastern Shore and parts of Anne Arundel, Harford and Baltimore counties, by tapping support from moderate Democrats and Republicans in general election wins.
Gilchrest was defeated in the GOP primary by state Sen. Andy Harris, and has now done what seemed inevitable and endorsed the Democrat in the race. It’s a timely boost that gives Kratovil a fighting chance this November in this R+10 district.
(H/T: conspiracy)
UPDATE: Like clockwork, Kratovil is out with this new ad starring none other than Rep. Wayne Gilchrest:
Good news. I don’t know if it will be enough. My mom lives about 5 miles from the eastern shore in Delaware. Whenever we go through there I see a lot of Harris signs. I’ve only seen one Kratovil bumper sticker and that was in Washington, DC. Eastern shore is pretty fundie.
I’m new to this site, and I’ve noticed several references to party advantages in districts as R+10 or D+1. Can somebody help me with what this means? Is it voter registration differences, Bush-Kerry vote margins, margin of victory in the previous congressional election, or something else? Thanks for your help.
I would bet Biden resigns early and Minner appoints successor to give newbie an edge over rest of freshmen in seniority.
BTW, anyone know if Gilchrest has endorsed in the Presidential race?
wrong story!
If he campaigns hard for him and the DCCC dumps some money we might pull this off.
the Dems intentionally drew it to be as Republican as possible. It’s a “conceded district.”
I’d like to see a public poll.
I noticed there was one word missing in the Kratovil ad. That word is “Democrat”. It isn’t mentioned once, but “Republican” mentioned in the opening statement. In the closing logo, it even looks like he is claiming to be an Independent. Its close to being intentionally misleading. When the Republicans have done this, the accusation is that they are running away from their party. I don’t understand why, in what will will be another blue wave year, that Kratovil would not openly admit in his ads that he is a Democrat. Is Harris claiming to be an Independent too?
Actually this district was represented by a moderate/liberal Dem in the 1980s named Roy Dyson, who first got elected when the conservate Republican incumbent had a sex scandal right before the 1980 election
I think it should be a high priority for us to help keep this crazy Andy Harris guy away from the seat. Sad to say that I doubt we can keep Aaron Schock out either, but at least we can keep one out.