Still angry about this winter's bitter GOP primary, the chief fundraiser for Republican Congressman Wayne T. Gilchrest announced yesterday she will join the campaign of the Democratic challenger for Maryland's open 1st District.
Lynn Caligiuri, who has been raising money for Gilchrest for the past decade, will now work against state Sen. Andy Harris, who unseated the nine-term incumbent by more than 10 points. She is also the wife of Gilchrest's chief of staff, who has appeared at an event for Republicans supporting Queen Anne's County State's Attorney Frank Kratovil Jr.
Kratovil's campaign -- which faces an uphill battle in a district where voting patterns tilt toward the GOP -- is also set to gain help from the House's second-ranking Democrat, Rep. Steny H. Hoyer.
His new campaign manager will be Marie Duffield, a seasoned political operative from Southern Maryland who has worked in the past on local elections in conjunction with the Hoyer. The House majority leader has known Kratovil since he was a child and has taken a keen interest in the race.
Hoyer's support, along with that of national Democrats, is seen as essential if Kratovil is to stay competitive with Harris, who is a powerhouse fundraiser.
National Democratic leaders said they hope that Gilchrest's primary defeat by the more conservative Harris might open the door for them to take control of the district, which comprises the Eastern Shore and parts of Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Harford counties.
"Kratovil's going to have to wage a much more sophisticated campaign in the general election than he did in the fall to beat someone as strong as Harris," said Michael J.G. Cain, director of the Center for the Study of Democracy at St. Mary's College of Maryland. Democrats have "an uphill fight," he said, but because it's now a seat with no incumbent, "they have an opening."
"For that reason, they can expect outside money and outside consulting on both sides to make either the Republican or Democrat prevail," he said. "It's one of the most exciting campaigns in the country."
Stu Rothenberg, founder and publisher of the Rothenberg Political Report, a Washington-based newsletter that tracks House and Senate races, said many questions still loom over the race: Will Gilchrest switch sides to endorse Kratovil? How much money can the young prosecutor raise? Can Harris -- a workhorse campaigner -- unite the factions of the GOP still loyal to Gilchrest after a nasty primary?
