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Kratovil clinches; House Dems gain at 20th seat |
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By Aaron Blake
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Posted: 11/11/08 12:10 PM [ET] |
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Rep.-elect Frank Kratovil’s (D-Md.) GOP opponent has conceded the
race in Maryland’s 1st district, giving House Democrats a net gain of 20 seats
this election cycle. Media outlets had called the race for Kratovil over the weekend,
but state Sen. Andy Harris (R) made it official by conceding on Tuesday.
Harris defeated Rep. Wayne Gilchrest in the Republican primary and
was the early favorite to win his seat, but Kratovil won a hard-fought and
expensive campaign with a valuable Maryland Democrat at his side in House
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.
Kratovil leads Harris by more than 2,000 votes out of 350,000
cast, with about 8,000 absentee ballots remaining.
He becomes the seventh Democrat in Maryland’s eight-seat House
delegation, but he will have to maintain a very conservative district that went
62 percent for President Bush in 2004.
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