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State Sen. Andy Harris (R) holds a 44 percent-28 percent lead over Democrat Frank Kratovil in the 1st district, according to a new internal poll released by the Harris campaign.
Harris defeated incumbent Rep. Wayne Gilchrest by more than 10 percentage points in February’s GOP primary and appeared a lock to hold the seat in the general election, but Democrats are hoping that this winter’s Republican infighting will help their cause.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has designated Kratovil one of its “Red to Blue” candidates.
Harris’s latest numbers show his lead widening again after a Kratovil internal poll, released at the end of April, seemed to indicate the race was tightening.
A National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) poll conducted around the GOP primary showed its candidate holding a 37-22 percent advantage, but in Kratovil’s poll, Harris’s lead had shrunk to nine points, 43-34.
Kratovil’s campaign downplayed Harris’s polling numbers, saying they had “significantly different” internal polling results of their own.
Campaign manager Tim McCann pointed out that Harris had to loan his campaign $100,000 of his own money in the second quarter in order to maintain a significant lead in cash on hand.
“Frank is going to have the resources to compete in the fall, and that’s the real storyline here,” McCann said.
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