Nov 10, 2008 6:30 pm US/Eastern
1st District Candidates To Hold News Conferences
CATONSVILLE, Md. (WJZ) ―
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Even though the Associated Press has declared Democrat Frank Kratovil the winner of the hotly contested race for Maryland's 1st District, neither side is claiming victory or defeat just yet.
CBS
A week later and there is still no clear winner in the hotly contested race for Maryland's 1st Congressional District. But that may change Tuesday.
Provisional ballots are still being counted to establish the official winner, but Democrat Frank Kratovil has a lead over Republican Andy Harris by a little more than 2,000 votes.
Mike Hellgren reports both candidates plan news conferences Tuesday.
The battle between Harris and Kratovil is not over, and it came down to provisional ballots Monday.
Workers counted almost 4,800 of them. Provisional ballots are issued when a voter's eligibility at the polls is questioned.
Harris has not been able to overcome the lead Kratovil has maintained since Election Night.
"We want to make sure that the most votes get counted as possible," said Kevin Lawlor, Kratovil campaign.
"Oh, they're crucial. Every vote is crucial, and we're seeing that in this election," said Chris Meekin, Harris campaign.
Outside groups spent $4 million on the fierce battle.
It will affect the winning party's power in Washington. The seat covers parts of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford and Cecil counties and all of the Eastern Shore.
It was once thought to be safely Republican. GOP incumbent Wayne Gilchrest held the seat for almost two decades before Harris defeated him and state lawmaker E.J. Pipkin in the primary. Then Gilchrest endorsed Kratovil.
The Associated Press has already called the race for Kratovil, saying based on trends, it would be nearly impossible for Harris to win.
But Kratovil is waiting for more votes to be counted before declaring victory, and Harris is not conceding yet.
That may change Tuesday. Harris will have a noon news conference in Salisbury and a 6 p.m. news conference in White Marsh. Kratovil will have a news conference at 2 p.m.
Nearly 4,000 votes, including absentee ballots that were postmarked by Election Day but arrived late and some from military families serving overseas, still need to be counted.
"It looks like Kratovil has eked out what appears to be a very, very modest victory, but that victory may not hold up," said Don Norris, UMBC professor.
Kratovil is leading Harris in every county on the Eastern Shore, which is his home base.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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