Campaign

Harris leads big in own poll

by Joey Michalakes - 07/23/08 6:40 PM ET

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.

{mosads}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.

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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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