Nov 11, 2008 6:19 pm US/Eastern
Harris Calls Kratovil To Concede 1st Congressional
CATONSVILLE, Md. (WJZ) ―
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Andy Harris called Frank Kratovil Tuesday morning and conceded the race.
CBS
A week later and there seems to finally be a winner in the hotly contested race for Maryland's 1st Congressional District.
Mike Hellgren reports Republican Andy Harris called Democrat Frank Kratovil around 10 a.m. Tuesday to concede the race. He also wished Kratovil luck. Both candidates also have news conferences planned for Tuesday afternoon.
Provisional ballots are still being counted, but Kratovil has a lead over Harris by a little more than 2,000 votes.
Workers have counted almost 4,800 provisional ballots. 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.
The campaigns weighed in Monday evening on the ballots.
"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 this fierce battle. 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.
Harris will have a noon news conference in Salisbury and a 6 p.m. news conference in White Marsh Tuesday. 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 was 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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