Democrat Kratovil wins US House seat from Md.

[DogPoundPup]

Source: Anchorage Daily News

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Democrats have gained another foot soldier in Congress: Democrat Frank Kratovil has won an open seat in the U.S. House from Maryland's 1st District.

He claimed a seat held for 18 years by the GOP.

A first round of absentee ballots counted by Friday showed Kratovil with 49 percent of the ballot, beating Republican Andy Harris with 48 percent. A Libertarian candidate also took 2 percent of the ballot as Kratovil claimed a 2,000-plus vote advantage.

The victory gives Democrats some 255 House seats, to 173 for the GOP. Democrats have now captured GOP-held seats in every region of the country in Tuesday's vote.

Read more: http://www.adn.com/uspolitics/story/582226.html

[margotb822]

1. Gotta love Maryland!

What an awesome blue state...and becoming bluer!

[Stinky The Clown]

7. Don't overestimate our Blueyness.

[margotb822]

9. Well, population wise, we still win

I don't like the territory argument. Elections are won on the number of votes, not the territory. Even in the state legislature the Dems have a 3:1 advantage.

[salguine]

10. No kidding. We only go Democratic because the handful of blue counties

are far and away the densest population centers. I live in Annapolis, which is in the central blue corridor, but even my county went red this year...and I have family in western Maryland, and every visit to that end of the state is a nightmarish miasma of Fox News, Bill O'Reilly, NASCAR, Fox News, mullets on children, Fox News, babies in camouflage onesies, junker cars with "Terrorist Hunting Permit" stickers and Fox News. If my mother didn't live out there I'd never set foot beyond Baltimore.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

13. As someone who grew up in one of Maryland's dense blue areas...

your post brought tears to my eyes.

Western Maryland is where I saw my first "Evil Exists" bumper sticker. And who can forget "Shoot a Yankee for Jesus" on the Eastern shore. Aah, good times.

[TexasProgresive]

20. Shore people are almost a different species

I lived on the shore for 2 years in the early 70's. Those who hunted and fished did their deer hunting out of season and during deer season harassed "Baltimore hunters" to the point of shooting their vehicles and so forth. While I have no love for city types running around the countryside with guns I draw the line at shooting them.

[Wizard777]

24. I think most of them are refugees from Virginia.

[onager]

17. Bwa-ha-ha! Oh thanks! Sounds just...er, jist like home...

...a nightmarish miasma of Fox News, Bill O'Reilly, NASCAR, Fox News, mullets on children, Fox News, babies in camouflage onesies, junker cars with "Terrorist Hunting Permit" stickers and Fox News. If my mother didn't live out there I'd never set foot beyond Baltimore.

I'm from very rural Upstate South Carolina. In fact, my mom only lives a couple miles from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-Asshat). If it weren't for her and a couple of other beloved relatives I'd never go back either.

Maryland must have some of them new-fangled Communistic zoning laws. Otherwise you'd have mentioned the choice properties hosting 4 or 5 rusty, rotting double-wides--generally one for each family member from several generations. And of course, the traditional redneck landscaping of 10 or 12 old cars and pickup trucks that have not run since Bill Clinton was in office.

One of these idiots lives right beside my mother. As a bonus, his property includes a collapsing service station built around 1960. I mean, the roof has literally fallen in.

He and his paramour of the moment live in one of the many--yes!--double-wides crammed onto the lot. When one double-wide starts splitting at the seams, he just buys another one, leaving the existing domiciles to fall apart right where they sit. His adult son recently moved his own trailer onto the place.

Oh, and of course he has piles of greasy car parts, 55-gallon drums full of assorted junk etc. sitting around.

A couple of years ago the state built a new elementary school right beside this amateur junkyard. The neighbors thought he would finally be forced to clean up his shit-hole, but no. He got a lawyer and successfully defended his property rights.

He got away with it because the area has no zoning laws. And every time a zoning law is proposed, it gets defeated as incipient Communism.

But this cuts both ways. As you enter South Carolina on I-85, you are bombarded by huge billboards for strip clubs. The local churches started one of their Moral Crusades to get these joints closed, or at least the billboards removed.

They couldn't do it because there are no zoning laws, so Mr. Titty-Bar Owner has a perfect right to advertise and run his legal business. Ha!

[knixphan]

19. Ok, so western Maryland is off the road-trip list...

[salguine]

26. Actually, the scenery is beautiful. If you like camping or hiking, it's okay, as long

as you don't have to come into contact with any people.

[Zynx]

27. When you guys vote over 60% Dem, I think we can call you blue.

The Republicans win where there are no fucking people.

[Wabbajack_]

28. So Obama lost this district?

[pleah]

2. K&R We're getting there!

Thanks for more great news!

[Deep13]

3. Ha-ha!

[Ken Burch]

4. Congratulations!

[deutsey]

5. Finally...a Democrat representing the Eastern Shore!

...that's where I live. Although I'm in a purplish area, the Shore is mostly red. Or was.

[shireen]

12. he also represents parts of Baltimore Co. -- creative gerymandering

My former neighbor, in the Mays Chapel area, near Timonium, voted for Kratovil.


Edited to add 1st district map from Wikipedia

[TygrBright]

15. Congratulations! As an ex-Kent Countian, I was following this one with interest.

I actually liked Wayne Gilchrest a lot-- he was one of only two GOPpies I've ever voted for. But gasbags and garbageheads like EJ Poopkin rolled in the end of that era. When they decided Gilchrest 'had to go,' I really hoped they'd get their asses handed to them.

Harris is a slimebag of the first order and I'm thrilled that he's not going to be representing Kent County!

happily,
Bright

[mysticalchick]

21. I'm here too ...

And am THRILLED to somehow have this squeaked through. I am so so so sick of seeing those dumbass McPalin signs all over the place but I put up ONE Obama sign and it gets stolen. Twits.

So, YEY! and hahahahahahahha

[deutsey]

22. You're on the Shore? Howdy!

I'm in Talbot County...

[LibbyTreehugger]

23. Just heard...

this is great news.

I was getting scared there for awhile that Harris would somehow pull this out.

(I'm in QAC)

[Alcibiades]

6. The first district is a rural district

on the Eastern Shore. In fact, it is the Eastern Shore. Anyway, I wonder if demographic changes (i.e. how it has become to Baltimore and D.C. what New Jersey once was to NYC) have anything to do with this, as well as Gilcrest's bitter defeat by a rabid right-wing ideologue in the primary. It used to be pretty blue, until Roy Dyson got beat by Gilcrest. Great to see it go blue again.

God bless you all, real good!

[Historic NY]

8. Every seat makes it more difficult for the Repukes to reclaim the majority..

thank you Md. for coming through.

[shireen]

11. YESSSS!!!!!!!!

That's what the Rethugs get for throwing Wayne Gilchrest, a moderate with a good environmental record, out during the Republican primaries. Gilchrest, who had held that seat forever, turned around and strongly endorsed the Dem, Kratovil.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

14. Maryland is DEEP, DEEP BLUE!! I am so lucky to live in this state and so proud.

[RollWithIt]

16. 83 seat majority equals at least a decade of majority rule...

Unless we really fuck it up.

[321Outright]

18. glad to hear this, Harris's ads were awful

I'm in baltimore, so we had a lot of spillover ads for that race. Harris's were so laughable- "andy harris, because liberal ideas NEVER work" and repeatedly using liberal as a dirty word to describe Kratovil and his policy ideas. i'm glad someone as closed minded as that lost.

[Sorceress]

25. Hey, people can say what they want but Maryland ...

is one of the few states that almost consistently goes blue. It has gone blue in every election since 1988 and though it went for Reagan and Bush, it also went blue in 1980 (Carter vs. Reagan) when NY, MA, etc. went red. So, I think our state deserves a little credit. It is a great blue state!

[struggle4progress]

29. Kratovil Declares Victory, Harris Concedes

By KEIRA BENSON
(DELMARVA -- WMDT) 11/11/2008

... Tuesday morning Republican candidate Andy Harris called Kratovil to concede. The conversation lasted less than a minute, but Kratovil described it as "cordial."

At a press conference in Salisbury, Harris acknowledged that it was a long, hard campaign, but he says it's time to put it in the past ...

http://www.wmdt.com/topstory/topstory.asp?id=3949