Frank Kratovil

See also: 2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Maryland § District 1

On June 4, 2007, Kratovil announced that he would run for Congress in Maryland's 1st congressional district. ^[11] During the February 12 primary, Kratovil defeated fellow Democrats Christopher Robinson, Steve Harper, and Joseph Werner.

Kratovil expected to face nine-term Republican incumbent Wayne Gilchrest, a leading Republican moderate, in the general election. However, Gilchrest was ousted in the Republican primary by a considerably more conservative Republican, State Senator Andy Harris. This significantly changed the race, as Kratovil was now running for an open seat rather than against a long-term incumbent.

Kratovil was initially a heavy underdog due to the district's election history. Although Democrats and Republicans were nearly tied in registration, the district has a strong tinge of social conservatism that had given Republicans an advantage for most of the time since the end of World War II. It had been in Republican hands for all but 14 years since 1947, although Kratovil received a significant boost when Gilchrest endorsed him over Harris. ^[12] In June, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) decided to back Kratovil's campaign financially through their Red to Blue program. ^[13] Kratovil, who is considered a moderate, ^[14] picked up a number of endorsements from local Eastern Shore Republicans as well as Democrats. ^[15] He also received an endorsement from the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of fiscally conservative congressional Democrats. ^[16] CQ Politics designated the race as "No Clear Favorite."

The November election was close, as expected. On election night, Kratovil led Harris by 915 votes. After two rounds of counting absentee ballots, Kratovil's lead grew to 2,000 votes. Forecasting that it would be nearly impossible for Harris to close the gap, most media outlets declared Kratovil the winner on the night of November 7. ^[17] Harris finally conceded on November 11.

Kratovil's election dramatized the geographic split that characterizes the 1st District. An Eastern Shore resident, Kratovil carried all nine counties on the Shore. However, he lost badly in the district's portion of Baltimore County, including most of Harris' base in Baltimore's more conservative eastern suburbs. He also lost the district's portions of Harford and Anne Arundel counties on the Western Shore. The district's voters are split almost evenly between the two regions. Kratovil therefore became only the third Democrat to represent the 1st since 1947, and the first since Gilchrest ousted Roy Dyson in 1990. John McCain carried the district with nearly 60 percent of the vote, which was his best showing in the state.

2010

See also: 2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Maryland § District 1

Harris announced in May 2009 that he would seek a rematch against Kratovil, citing Kratovil's vote for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in its final form. ^[18]

Kratovil based his 2010 re-election bid on his independent streak in Washington. He was quoted as saying, "We can send someone to Washington who is going to continue to be independent and put the interests of the people of his district first, or we can send people that are going to put their own extreme ideological views ahead of the best interests of the people of this district." ^[19] He also pointed to his overall record in Congress as proof. He was ranked as being in the top ten of independent voting records in Congress by CQ Politics in 2009. ^[20]

A "Super PAC" group called The Concerned Taxpayers of America paid $150,000 for ads attacking Kratovil, and $300,000 for ads attacking Peter DeFazio of Oregon. Mid-October 2010 quarterly FEC filings showed that the group was solely funded by $300,000 from Daniel G. Schuster Inc., a concrete firm in Owings Mills, Maryland, and $200,000 from New York hedge fund executive Robert Mercer, the co-head of Renaissance Technologies of Setauket, New York. According to Dan Eggen at The Washington Post , the group said "it was formed in September 'to engage citizens from every walk of life and political affiliation' in the fight against 'runaway spending.'" Its only expenditures were for these ads. Schuster was the top contributor to Harris. ^{[21] [22] [23] [24]}

Kratovil was defeated, taking 42 percent of the vote to Harris' 54 percent. He is one of only three Democrats since 1992 to win 40 percent or more of the district's vote.

Tenure

Kratovil aligned himself with the conservative House Blue Dog Coalition. ^[25] Despite the conservative bent of the 1st, he still supported many Democratic priorities. An analysis conducted by The Washington Post and others found Kratovil voted with the House Democratic Leadership 85% of the time. Major Democratic priorities Kratovil voted for included:

• The American Clean Energy and Security Act
• The Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010
• The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009
• The Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act
• The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
• The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010
• The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
• The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010
• The Employee Free Choice Act
• The Employment Non-Discrimination Act

An analysis of major legislation only by Congressional Quarterly and Centerline.org concluded Kratovil was one of the most centrist congressmen in the country. Kratovil voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in both November 2009 ^[25] and March 2010, citing his district's overwhelming opposition to it and "the overall cost, the deficit impact, and the negative impact that the bill's employer mandates could have on job creation." ^[26]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Agriculture
  • Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research
  • Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture
  • Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry
• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Readiness
  • Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces
• Committee on Natural Resources
  • Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife

Frank Kratovil
Judge of the Queen Anne's County District Court
Incumbent
Assumed office February 6, 2012

Year	Office	Election		Subject	Party	Votes	%		Opponent	Party	Votes	%		Opponent	Party	Votes	%		Opponent	Party	Votes	%
2002	Queen Anne's County State's Attorney [27]	General		Frank Kratovil	Democratic	9,169	57.23%		Paul W. Comfort	Republican	6,830	42.63%
2006	Queen Anne's County State's Attorney [8]	General		Frank Kratovil	Democratic	13,894	100%
2008	U.S. House, Maryland's 1st district [28]	Primary		Frank Kratovil	Democratic	28,566	40.2%		Christopher Robinson	Democratic	21,892	30.8%		Steve Harper	Democratic	11,904	16.7%		Joseph Werner	Democratic	8,753	12.3%
2008	U.S. House, Maryland's 1st district [29]	General		Frank Kratovil	Democratic	177,065	49.1%		Andy Harris	Republican	174,213	48.3%		Richard James Davis	Libertarian	8,873	2.5%		Write-ins		35	0.1%
2010	U.S. House, Maryland's 1st district [30]	General		Andy Harris	Republican	155,118	54.1%		Frank Kratovil	Democratic	120,400	42.0%		Richard James Davis	Libertarian	10,876	3.8%		Write-ins		418	0.15%

Judicial career

In late December 2011, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley appointed Kratovil as a judge for the Queen Anne's County District Court. Kratovil had been nominated by the Trial Courts Judicial Nominating Commission to fill a vacancy due to the retirement of Judge John T. Clark III. ^[31] He was reappointed by Governor Larry Hogan, confirmed by the State Senate, and sworn-in to another 10-year term in April 2022. ^[32]

References

1. "Men's Soccer All-Time Captains". McDaniel College. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
2. "Men's Soccer All-Time Honor Role". McDaniel College. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
3. "Men's Soccer Career History". McDaniel College. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
4. "Charles W. Havens Award Winners". McDaniel College. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
5. Office of State's Attorney, Queen Anne's County Archived 2009-02-10 at the Wayback Machine
6. "Frank M. Kratovil, Jr., Maryland District Court Judge". Maryland State Archives. September 29, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
7. "Frank Kratovil history". kratovil.com. Archived from the original on August 27, 2008.
8. 2006 Gubernatorial General Election Results - qacelections.com Archived 2008-07-03 at the Wayback Machine
9. Castaneda, Ruben (February 11, 2007). "Bill Seeks To Expand Prosecution Of Gangs". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
10. "Gang Problems Spreading Across Maryland". wjz.com. Archived from the original on February 12, 2009.
11. "Frank Kratovil candidacy announcement" (PDF). kratovil.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 27, 2008.
12. Lake, Sarah (September 9, 2008). "Gilchrest crosses party lines to support Kratovil". The Salisbury Flyer. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved 2009-05-09.
13. DCCC announces third round of Red to Blue (DCCC.org)
14. "Congressional race in Maryland gets tight – The Washington Blade". Archived from the original on 2009-02-12. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
15. Two local GOP figures endorse Kratovil – The Star Democrat
16. 'Blue Dog Coalition' gives endorsement to Kratovil – The Capital
17. Kratovil Wins 1st District Seat Over Harris Archived 2011-09-30 at the Wayback Machine . Associated Press via WBAL-TV, 2008-11-07.
18. "Rematch: Harris versus Kratovil". baltimoresun.com. The Baltimore Sun. May 7, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
19. Knauss, Chris (June 27, 2010). "Kratovil says common sense solutions needed in Washington". The Star Democrat. Easton, Maryland. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
20. "CQ Vote Studies: 2009". CQ Roll Call. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
21. DeFazio tries to find out who is behind mysterious attack ads, Karen Tumulty, The Washington Post , September 25, 2010
22. Wealthy financier is mysterious funder of ads attacking DeFazio, Jeff Mapes, The Oregonian , October 15, 2010
23. Concerned Taxpayers group is powered by only two donors, Dan Eggen, The Washington Post , October 17, 2010
24. Pioneering Fund Stages Second Act, Scott Patterson and Jenny Strasburg, The Wall Street Journal , March 16, 2010
25. Paul West (November 7, 2009). "Kratovil to oppose health care bill". Baltimore Sun .
26. "Kratovil Statement on Health Care Reform Legislation". kratovil.house.gov (Press release). Congressman Frank Kratovil. March 21, 2010.^{[ dead link ]}
27. Oueen Anne's County Board of Elections – Statement of Votes Cast Queen Anne's General; November 5, 2002; State of Maryland, Queen Anne's County (11/15/2002)
28. "Representative in Congress Results". Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved April 11, 2008.
29. "Representative in Congress Results". Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved on Jun. 14, 2009
30. "Representative in Congress Results". Maryland State Board of Elections. Retrieved on November 6, 2011
31. "O'Malley Appoints Kratovil to be a Judge". WBOC . December 29, 2011. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
32. Paul Bishop (April 2022). "Kratovil sworn in for second term as District Court Judge". Bay Times and Record.

External links

• Frank Kratovil for U.S. Congress official campaign site
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Profile from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC)
• Maryland State's Attorneys' Association (MSAA)
• National District Attorneys Association (NDAA)
• Queen Anne's County Community Partnerships for Children (Local Management Board)
• Appearances on C-SPAN

Legal offices
Preceded by David Gregory	State's Attorney of Queen Anne's County 2003–2009	Succeeded by Lance Richardson
Preceded by John Clark	Judge of the Queen Anne's County District Court 2012–present	Incumbent
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Wayne Gilchrest	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 1st congressional district 2009–2011	Succeeded by Andy Harris
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by Carolyn Bourdeaux as Former US Representative	Order of precedence of the United States as Former US Representative	Succeeded by John Light Napier as Former US Representative