Oct 28, 2008 11:15 pm US/Eastern
Md. 1st District Candidates Debate Economy, War
QUEENSTOWN, Md. (WJZ) ―
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The race for Maryland's first Congressional district is heating up.
CBS
It's not just the national race that's getting people excited. The race for Maryland's first Congressional district is heating up and the candidates squared off in their last debate.
Dennis Edwards has more.
There's a barn burner of a race underway in Maryland's first Congressional district, complete with Tuesday night's spirited debate and heated television ads.
Issues on the agenda at the debate are familiar: the economy, health care, immigration, taxes, war and deregulation. But this debate is just outside Queenstown, and the candidates are Democrat Frank Kratovil, Republican Andrew Harris and Libertarian Richard Davis.
"If we are going to have tax cuts, though, those tax cuts need to be focused on the middle class and small businesses. Specifically we need to look at the alternative minimum tax," Kratovil said.
"I do support across the board tax cuts, just like the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, across the board tax cuts, not just for any particular class," Harris said.
"I believe in tax cuts but we've got to get government spending cuts, or it's gonna be a wasted effort," Davis said.
All three candidates squared off at Chesapeake College.
Seven days before election day, Kratovil and Harris both claim to be ahead in the polls. Kratovil says he's up by four; Harris says he's up by six.
In this crowd, it's hard to find undecideds. The auditorium is packed with people wearing campaign gear and hosting signs. Former Governor Bob Ehrlich was working the crowd for his candidate. Those who braved high winds and rain to get a closer look at the candidates appear to have gotten the confirmation they need.
"I think the candidates all made some good points, but I have to think I was impressed with Andy Harris," said Pat McNeal.
"I thought it was a good debate. I thought it was a fair debate. I thought that Kratovil was quite aggressive in his attacks," said Karen Ortel.
Like the national races, this one's expected to go down to the wire with television ads and door-to-door campaigning through next Tuesday.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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