Cavey: “It’s Harris’ to lose”
No pressure on state Sen. Andy Harris’ bid to win Maryland’s 1st District Congressional seat. Really.
It’s 137 days from the Nov. 4 election (as of this post) and Chris Cavey, the elected chairman of the county Republican Central Committee, is predicting a win for the senator from Cockeysville over Frank Kratovil, a Democrat and Queen Anne’s County state’s attorney.
“It’s going to be (Harris’) to lose,” Cavey said in a phone interview last week. “It’s not a slam dunk, but it’s going to be his to lose.”
Polling released in May by Kratovil’s own campaign showed Harris leading by nine points, something that pleased the Democrat’s campaign enough to send out a press release citing the internal poll.
The Democratic Party has taken an interest in the race since Harris unseated incumbent Republican Rep. Wayne Gilchrest in the primary election earlier this year. Kratovil, who is something of an unknown in Baltimore County, has received a lot of support from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which is chaired by Rep. Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat who represents Maryland’s 8th Congressional District.
Last week, the committee added Kratovil to its “Red to Blue” program which provides support and access to an expanded list of donors from around the country with the aim of changing the district from Republican to Democrat.
The 1st District was created in 2002 by Democratic Gov. Parris Glendening who gerrymandered a safe Republican district that stretches from the Eastern Shore to include about two-dozen precincts in Baltimore County.
Democrats are hoping to capitalize on strong anti-Republican sentiments stemming from fatigue from two terms of George W. Bush. Democratic candidates have defeated Republican candidates in several special congressional elections this year. Some of those wins have come in districts considered to be safe for Republicans.
Tags: 2008 election, Andy Harris, Chris Cavey, Cockeysville, Frank Kratovil