This came to me from the Andy Harris campaign. Shill first and comment to follow:
The Kratovil campaign continued to show their lackluster fundraising ability with the announcement that for the 4th consecutive quarter the Harris campaign has outraised them. The Harris fundraising juggernaut has continued to post strong numbers from quarter to quarter.
Harris has continued to surpass all stated fundraising goal. Months ago, the Harris stated he wanted to be halfway to a $1.2million dollar budget. The campaign has brought in over $746,000 well above the $600,000 goal. “Andy’s message of lower taxes and less wasteful spending is generating the support allowing us to surpass every fundraising goal we have set,” said Campaign Manager Chris Meekins. “The Harris campaign clearly has the momentum, and the Kratovil campaign has once again come up short.”
Despite the influx of liberal special interest money from DC, Kratovil still cannot match the Harris fundraising juggernaut. “This is a clear sign Kratovil’s liberal message of higher taxes and more wasteful government spending is not resonating with donors.” Said Harris Campaign Manager Chris Meekins.
To help weed through the political spin typical of campaign seasons, here are some facts about the fundraising totals:
- Harris out-raised Kratovil for a 4th consecutive quarter.
- Harris well surpassed all stated fundraising goals.
- Harris has $150,000 more cash on hand than the Kratovil campaign.
Yes, yes, the cacophony of whining will begin shortly about Harris getting huge wads of money from favorite left-wing whipping boy the Club For Growth. In the meantime, Kratovil puts his own spin on things:
Campaign fundraising reports filed today with the Federal Election Committee showed a huge shift of momentum in the 1st District Congressional race, as Democratic nominee Frank Kratovil erased most of his opponent‟s previous fundraising advantage and finished the quarter just $60,000 back from Sen. Andy Harris in funds raised. Harris, struggling to meet the public fundraising goal he had announced earlier in the quarter, was forced to loan himself $100,000 on the final day of the quarter to inflate his sagging totals. Kratovil raised $375,985 between April 1 and June 30 and closed the period with $454,027 cash on hand. Andy Harris raised $431,550 for the quarter. Earlier in June, Harris had publicly stated that he was already “about halfway there” to banking the $1.2 million he thought he would need for the race.
In truth, he was still a good deal short of $600,000 cash on hand at the time he made that claim. Lagging far short of this public goal, Harris was forced to loan himself an additional $100,000 on June 30 to hit the $600,000 mark. “Momentum is shifting,” said Kratovil spokesman Tim McCann in response to the filings. “Frank raised more in the last quarter than he had raised in the previous 3 quarters combined. Meanwhile, Andy Harris was caught lying about his fundraising strength and needed a last-minute loan to bail himself out. He‟s starting to panic. When the so-called “favorite” in a top-tier race starts missing his fundraising goals, he‟s in real trouble.” McCann also pointed out that Kratovil wasn‟t even added to the DCCC‟s “Red to Blue” program until the final two weeks of the quarter. Being added to this list of top-tier competitive races will further aid Kratovil’s fundraising efforts moving forward.
That, then, is the spin from both sides. However, it is worthy of noting that, loan to himself or not, Harris still had more cash on hand than Kratovil. If Andy Harris believes in his chances enough to put his own money on the line I have no issue with that.
There is one other stealth factor at work here that could come into play. From PolitickerMD‘s “Wally Edge“:
On June 30, the last day of the second financial quarter, Victory Now/Kratovil Joint Fundraising Committee incorporated itself with the Federal Elections Commission.
Victory Now is the leadership PAC of Eighth District Democrat Chris Van Hollen. He and First district challenger Frank Kratovil opened the account to process donations and expenditures made from a joint event last month. (Emphasis in original.)
This clears the way for more joint Washington D.C. fundraisers with the DCCC head; or, put another way, another opportunity for special interests to contribute to Frank Kratovil without necessarily getting their hands dirty or as easily made public.
Overall, it’s a given that millions will be raised and spent on this Congressional seat. The question is whether you believe the rhetoric spewed forth by Frank Kratovil’s campaign or the record that Andy Harris has put together in the State Senate?
If the creek hasn’t risen by the time you read this, I’ll be on my way to see both candidates down in Crisfield along with a host of other politicians. I’m planning on providing pictures and text upon my return.
Exactly what record does dandy Andy have in the State Senate? He has not been able to get a single bill passed in the last three years. If his fellow state senators have such little respect for him, then his chances at success in the big leagues are slim. If Andy was a great representative of his constituents, then he would be able to build a consensus in support of his legislative efforts. Consensus building is obviously not his strong suit.
And then we have the matter of his fellow Republicans selecting a new minority leader and giving Andy the boot. Andy survived with Ehrlich in office, but his fellow Republican State Senators knew that he was going to lead them nowhere, so they demoted him. Why should we have a second rate State Senator as our congressman?
Wow…way to make up facts!!! First, Andy was not “demoted”…he didn’t want to be Senate Minority Whip anymore…he didn’t even run for minority leader. Secondly, anyone who knows Maryland politics will know that all GOP Legislators have trouble passing legislation. This is nothing new, as many of them propose the same bills year after year, but becuase the Liberals in Maryland refuse to work with anyone and like retarding progress, they spitefully shoot things down, just to make Republicans look bad. If this is the best line the Frankie KraP-Ovil people are going to throw out, then this election is in the bag for Andy.