Frank Kratovil

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.

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.

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:

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[26] 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."[27]

• 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