We cordially invite you to a reception with

Congressman Eric Cantor, Republican Whip

For

Senator Andy Harris, M.D.

Candidate for Congress in Maryland’s 1st District

Hosted by:

Cong. Roscoe Bartlett, Hon. Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., Hon. Ellen Sauerbrey

Tuesday, March 9, 2010 ~ Baltimore, Maryland

Host Committee:  John Cantlin, Nick Cortezi, Scott Dorsey, Bruz Frenkil, John Gaburick, Lee Gaines, Dick Hug, Kent Hoffman, John Kane, Howard Klein, Louis Pope, Robb Merritt, Cory & Stan Rothschild, Steve Salamon, Chris West, John White   

Evening reception ~ $250 person

For more information and to RSVP please contact Amy Shuster

Phone:  (410) 727-4812  or Email:  amy.shuster@verizon.net

Maryland’s First District lies on the Eastern Shore, a nine-county strip of land wedged between the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay. But as a result of gerrymandering, bits of the district stretch west of the bay into the more urban Harford, Anne Arundel, and Baltimore counties. MD-1 voters sent a Republican to Congress from 1990 to 2008. In 2008, McCain won it 58 percent to 40 percent; in 2004, Bush beat Kerry by a 26-point margin. Kratovil campaigned as a Blue Dog Democrat and, with a Democratic wave nationwide, slipped through by 3,000 votes.

Today, though, it “is a totally different political environment,” says a spokesman at the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) who monitors the district, “Kratovil having completely broken his promises to be a moderate Democrat.” The Cook Political Report is already rating the race a tossup. “This is one of our top pickup opportunities in the country,” the NRCC spokesman said.

The 2010 campaign in MD-1 is a crucial test for the GOP and a bellwether of the party’s attempt to regain control of the House.

The likely GOP challenger is Andy Harris, a state senator, fiscal conservative, and tea party regular. He is also the candidate who narrowly lost to Kratovil in 2008. Kratovil won the seat thanks not just to the Democratic electoral trend but also to a messy Republican primary. Harris had challenged the incumbent, Wayne Gilchrest. Harris had a record of endorsing low taxes and restrained government spending during 12 years in the state senate, while Gilchrest had been moving further and further left over his nine terms. Republican voters, says Harris, were upset that Gilchrest had “left the mainstream of the party.” Harris won the primary by 10 percentage points—43 to 33—and Gilchrest promptly endorsed Kratovil.

But that was 2008. The political mood has shifted, and Kratovil has a record. Rather than an independent-minded Blue Dog, he has voted with his party 84 percent of the time. Nor has he pursued the fiscally conservative policies the Blue Dogs favor. He voted in favor of the stimulus, is on record supporting the public option for health care—though he voted against the House version of the health care bill in the end—and endorsed cap and trade. Back in June, on the day before cap and trade was brought to a vote, The Hill reported that Kratovil was seen on the House floor “shaking his head no as Pelosi buttonholed him.” The next day, he voted for cap and trade.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee still paints him as a nonpartisan Blue Dog. “Congressman Kratovil has been an independent voice for his district. .  .  . He has focused his efforts on reining in spending and reducing the deficit, and that’s a record he’s going to stand by during this year’s campaign,” a spokesman said.

But Harris says that he’s not just running against Kratovil, but also Nancy Pelosi and her ideologically driven policies. “Kratovil sees government as a solution to our problems .  .  . but the people want Reagan-style conservatism,” he says.

Already on the campaign trail in advance of a Republican primary he is expected to win easily, Harris paints himself as a fiscal conservative first and foremost. In the state senate, he points out, he voted against every tax increase, every Democratic budget proposal, and even a few Republican ones that he found extravagant. If elected to Congress, he says he will not apply for earmarks.  

Asked if his constituents may resent that another district gets the federal dollars they could have received from earmarks, Harris says, “You don’t lose projects when you move away from earmarks. You just let the normal appropriations process take place. People understand that earmarks aren’t special dollars—they are tax dollars that go to D.C. and then to the district.” In an election year where angry voters are lashing out against Washington’s borrowing and spending policies, his position on earmarks could prove popular.

Popular enough to beat Kratovil.  We’ll see in November.

Source:  Weekly Standard

ANNAPOLIS—Andy Harris for Congress today announced that Ellen Sauerbrey has joined the campaign as Chair.  Sauerbrey will help oversee the campaign and provide strategic counsel and grassroots coordination throughout Maryland’s First Congressional District for Andy Harris for Congress.   

“Ellen is a long-time friend, confidante and a valuable addition to the team,” Harris said.  “Her knowledge of and experience with Maryland voters, the small business and agricultural communities and the federal government will be a significant asset to our successful campaign.  The addition of Ellen as Chair is more proof that by working together we can get our economy back on track, get people back to work and get a new congressman for the District that will truly represent the values of the voters.” 

Sauerbrey stated, “I am pleased to serve as Chair of Senator Harris’s campaign for Congress because he believes in those traditional conservative values on which America was founded.  I know I can trust him to go to Washington and fight to control the size and cost of government and to uphold the constitutional limits on government power.  He understands that the best way to create jobs is to reduce the burden of taxes and regulations on small business.  As a doctor he will ensure that patients and physicians control their medical decisions, not Washington bureaucrats.  And as a veteran he will vigorously protect and defend our nation from terrorism. I invite Republicans, Democrats and Independents to join us in sending a strong message to Washington that enough is enough and it is time to get Congress working on what is important to us, not them.” 

Ellen Sauerbrey was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration in 2006.  She also served as U.S. Representative to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.  She was elected Maryland House Minority Leader from 1986-1994.  She was the Republican nominee for governor in 1994 and 1998.  Sauerbrey lives in the First Congressional District.

Maryland Republican Reaches ‘Young Gun’ Status with Clear Path to Victory

Washington-The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) announced today that Republican Andy Harris (MD-01) has reached ‘Young Gun’ status, the top level of its three-level Young Guns program. By advancing to the program’s top tier, Harris has proven his ability to build a winning campaign and achieve vital fundraising goals.

Founded in the 2007-2008 election cycle by Reps. Eric Cantor (R-VA), Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Paul Ryan (R-WI), the Young Guns program is a member-driven organization dedicated to electing open-seat and challenger candidates nationwide.

Andy Harris, M.D. was elected to the Maryland Senate in 1998 and is serving his third term. The only physician in the Senate, Senator Harris currently serves on the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee (Health Subcommittee) and the Joint Committee on Health Care Delivery and Financing. He served as Senate Minority Whip during the Ehrlich administration. Harris, who was a Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve Medical Corps, brings to the race a wealth of experience with several issues critically important to the people of Maryland’s 1st District.
 

“Andy Harris has proven that he is ready to put this seat back in the Republican column,” said NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions (R-TX). “Dr. Harris’ campaign is a symbol of the growing momentum behind Republican candidacies both in Maryland and across the country. As Frank Kratovil and his party bosses continue to push their big-government, big-spending policies onto the backs of hard-working families, Republicans like Andy Harris will continue to present a clear alternative to a Democrat majority that continues to spend too much, borrow too much and tax too much at the expense of the American people.”

Now that Harris has completed the benchmarks to place him on the road to victory, he is in a position to defeat incumbent Democrat Frank Kratovil this November.

Thank you for making the kick off for Andy Harris for Congress a tremendous success.  Your support of our campaign to improve the economy, health care and our national security is the most important part of this endeavor.  I am incredibly grateful for the support I am gaining every day from citizens like you who care about the issues we face and making a better future for us, our children and our grandchildren.

It was a fantastic way to begin my campaign surrounded by hundreds of supporters fired up and ready to work hard to restore our shared values in Washington by electing a new member of Congress who is dedicated to bringing prosperity back to the District and the nation. 

Please join me and the many Marylanders that have signed on to help.  Get involved today here.

Ellen Sauerbrey Joins Harris for Congress as Campaign Chair

You are the first to know about the addition of someone I respect to the campaign who has fought to improve Maryland for many years.  Ellen Sauerbrey has joined Andy Harris for Congress as our campaign chair.  She will bring her leadership, experience and knowledge of the issues Marylanders care most about to the campaign.  This is an important development considering my campaign is centered around the voters in the District rather than the powerful Washington interests.  Few have worked as long and as hard as Ellen to take on those powerful interests while working to cut taxes and promote job creation for the citizens of the state.  I'm proud to have her on the team and know that her input will be invaluable to our success.

We Have the Momentum…

Exciting news about the momentum we are building!  Recently I was named the most likely Republican challenger to defeat an incumbent Democrat in the nation by the Washington Post’s “The Fix” column.  “The Fix” also named Maryland’s First District as the fifth most competitive district in the country.  Read it here. 

My campaign has received the endorsement of nearly all elected Republicans from the General Assembly that represent parts of the district and the only two Republican county executives in Maryland. 

The National Republican Congressional Committee ranked me as one of their top challengers in the new "Young Guns" program, which ranks GOP challengers across the nation.

Stuart Rothenberg, author of the "Rothenberg Report" and one of the leading Congressional race observers in Washington, just a month ago said that he would not rate any challenger race better than a "toss-up" until much later in the year.  But after the election of Scott Brown in Massachusetts, he changed his mind, and now rates my race as "tilt Republican" - a very important development in a challenger race. 

The momentum we are building has been significant and is bringing on board Republicans, Democrats and Independents in the District who know that our nation is on the wrong track and are supporting me to steer us back.

We have to continue working hard because Nancy Pelosi and her liberal allies and lobbyist friends have already begun funneling money to my opponent so that she can continue to have control over how our District votes. 

I cannot do this without you and will take you, and the issues you care most about, with me to Washington come November.

Maryland and Washington…More of the Same

The Maryland General Assembly session began three weeks ago with the state once again facing a $3 billion budget deficit and billion dollar deficits projected until at least 2015 (the farthest the state will project out on fiscal issues.)  The deficit over the next four years will be at least $8.4 billion, which doesn’t include all of the new programs the majority in Annapolis will be trying to pass over the next 65 days.  As a State Senator, since the first day I was elected to office I have fought to stop the reckless spending in Annapolis, instill fiscal responsibility in the halls of our state capitol and be an unwavering advocate for Maryland families, small businesses and citizens.  I will bring that same commitment to Washington, which clearly needs it.

This week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to raise the country’s debt ceiling to a record $1.9 trillion!  This was done as Congressional Democrats seek to pass another stimulus that they’re disingenuously calling a jobs bill.  In fact, the proposal being discussed in Washington would be anti-jobs, leading to more government  borrowing to finance debt which will further stifle lending to private sector employers who can’t find the loans to expand their businesses and create new jobs.  The growing debt burden is bankrupting the nation.  Americans are demanding a return to fiscal conservatism in our nation’s capitol.  This is why I believe that together we will be successful in November.

While there are some proposals that I would support in the proposal, including extending credit to small businesses, the sudden focus by Congressional Democrats and the White House on jobs is a direct result of the millions of Americans who have stood up to say "enough is enough!"  While it is encouraging that Congressional leaders have sidetracked the publicly-opposed health care and cap-and-trade bills for now to concentrate on what American taxpayers really want to see done, this turnabout by national Democrats can only be ascribed to their desire to stay in power and survive the 2010 mid-term elections.  This is why we need to remain vigilant and elect true taxpayer and small business advocates to Congress to replace the conservative-in-name-only incumbents that will soon be back to voting the way Nancy Pelosi dictates, not according to the citizens of the District.

 Be a Harris Grassroots Leader…

My campaign now has volunteer coordinators in nearly every county in the District.  We are mobilizing more every day.  But we need all the help we can get!  Sign up today and join me at our grassroots meeting on Saturday, February 13, 2010 in Kent Island.  For more information, email me at info@andyharris.com.