Loving it - 1st Congressional District has Become a DNC Money Pit

from The Baltimore Sun

Democrats up ante; put $1 million behind Kratovil

So, do the folks at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee know something about the Frank Kratovil-Andy Harris rematch that the wise-guy analysts don't?

If not, why have they poured $1.1 million into a race that some--though by no means all--handicappers see as a likely Republican pickup?

The DCCC just put another $300,000 into attack ads against Republican Harris in Maryland's First District, according to a new filing with the Federal Election Commission. That brings the DCCC's total investment in Kratovil's re-election to $1,118,981.78.

That spending vaults Maryland's easternmost congressional district into the top ranks of House races nationally and raises the stakes for a party fighting to keep its majority in Congress.

Perhaps it's simply home-state pride. After all, Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland is the DCCC chair. And Baltimore-born Speaker Nancy Pelosi--the GOP's punching bag in its anti-Kratovil ads--and neighboring Maryland Congressman Steny Hoyer, the Majority Leader, are the top Democrats in the House.

Or might Democratic strategists have reason to think Kratovil will hold off Harris, long regarded as one of the Republican Party's best bets in the nation to take back a Democratic seat this fall?

If it's merely an attempt to entice the national Republican Party into redoubling its support for Harris--which would deflect resources that could be deployed elsewhere--that's a very expensive ploy. For now, though, the National Republican Congressional Committee is being outspent better than two-to-one in the conservative district, which takes in parts of Baltimore, Harford and Anne Arundel counties and the entire Eastern Shore.