| Frank Kratovil | |
|---|---|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 1st district |
|
| In office January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011 |
|
| Preceded by | Wayne Gilchrest |
| Succeeded by | Andrew Harris |
| Queen Anne's County State's Attorney | |
| In office January 2003 – January 3, 2009 |
|
| Preceded by | David Gregory |
| Succeeded by | Lance G. Richardson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 29, 1968 Lanham, Maryland |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Kimberly Kratovil (m. 1992) |
| Children | Frank Kratovil III Jackson Kratovil Cole Kratovil Nate Kratovil Ayden Kratovil |
| Residence | Stevensville, Maryland |
| Alma mater | Western Maryland College University of Baltimore School of Law |
| Profession | Prosecutor |
| Religion | Episcopalian |
| Website | www.kratovil.com |
Frank Michael Kratovil Jr., (born May 29, 1968) is the former U.S. Representative for Maryland's 1st congressional district, serving since 2009. He was defeated in his bid for reelection on November 2, 2010. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served as State's Attorney of Queen Anne's County on Maryland's Eastern Shore.
Contents |
Frank Kratovil was born in Lanham, Maryland, spent his childhood in Prince George's County, Maryland. He is the son of Frank M. Kratovil Sr. and Lynnda Kratovil. Kratovil attended high school at Queen Anne School in Upper Marlboro and graduated in 1986. Kratovil received his bachelor's degree in 1990 from Western Maryland College. He joined Phi Delta Theta while there. Kratovil also graduated with honors from University of Baltimore School of Law in 1994. He then served from 1994 to 1995 as Law Clerk for Judge Darlene G. Perry of Prince George's County Circuit Court. From 1995 to 1997 he served as Assistant State’s Attorney for Prince George's County, Maryland.[1][2]
In 1997, Kratovil moved to the Eastern Shore and was appointed Assistant State’s Attorney for Queen Anne's County, Maryland. During his tenure as Assistant State’s Attorney he served as the County's only full-time Prosecutor and Community Prosecutor.[1] He continued to serve as Assistant State's Attorney until 2001 when he was appointed as Deputy State’s Attorney in Kent County, Maryland.[2] He also served as the President of the Young Democrats of Maryland from 1997 to 1998.[3]
In 2002, Kratovil ran for the office of State's Attorney in Queen Anne's County and was elected after defeating four term incumbent David Gregory in the primary and Republican Paul W. Comfort in the general. Kratovil assumed office at the age of 34 making him the youngest State's Attorney in Maryland.[1] He ran unopposed for re-election in 2006.[4] He was elected by his fellow State's Attorneys to be President of the Maryland State's Attorneys' Association (MDSAA) for 2005. During his time as President of the MDSAA, he pushed for stronger legislation to expand prosecution of gangs and increased awareness of growing problems with drugs and gangs in Maryland's rural areas.[5][6]
Kratovil voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in March 2010, citing "the overall cost, the deficit impact, and the negative impact that the bill’s employer mandates could have on job creation."[7] Afterward, Kratovil touted his opposition to the law in campaign ads.[8] A local paper criticized that approach.[9]
On June 4, 2007 Kratovil announced that he would run for Congress in Maryland's 1st congressional district.[10] During the February 12 Primary Kratovil defeated fellow Democrats Christopher Robinson, Steve Harper, and Joseph Werner.
Kratovil faced State Senator Andy Harris in the 2008 General Election. Harris defeated nine-term incumbent Wayne Gilchrest in the Republican primary after branding Gilchrest as too moderate. Ultimately, Kratovil's victory was greatly assisted by running for an open seat, rather than against a long-term incumbent such as Gilchrest.
Kratovil was initially a heavy underdog due to the district's election history. Although Democrats and Republicans are nearly tied in registration, the 1st has a strong tinge of social conservatism that favors Republicans, but due to redistricting the district is now made of many different areas, many of which favor Democrats. The district had been in Republican hands for all but 14 years since 1959. Kratovil gained unexpected momentum when incumbent Congressman Wayne Gilchrest, who lost in the Republican primary, endorsed Kratovil over Harris.[11] In June, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) decided to back Kratovil's campaign financially through their Red to Blue program.[12] Kratovil, who is considered a moderate,[13] has received endorsements not only from Democrats, but from local Eastern Shore Republicans.[14] He also received an endorsement from the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of fiscally conservative congressional Democrats.[15] CQ Politics designated the race as "No Clear Favorite."
The November election was as 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.[16] Harris finally conceded on November 11.
Kratovil's election dramatized the geographic split that characterizes the 1st District. An Eastern Shore resident, Kratovil won Cecil County and the shore's eight other counties, but lost the district's portions of Baltimore County, Harford County and Anne Arundel County on the Western shore, which include conservative Baltimore suburbs and the home of Andy Harris. The district's voters are roughly split between the two regions.
Kratovil was challenged by Republican nominee State Senator Andy Harris and defeated.
Harris announced his candidacy in May 2009, citing Kratovil's vote for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in its final form.[17]
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."[18] 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.[19]
As a result of the SCOTUS decision on Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a so-called 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. It was not revealed until the mid-October 2010 quarterly FEC filings 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. The FEC filings prior to then listed only a Capitol Hill address and Republican political consultant Jason Miller as treasurer. According to Dan Eggen at The Washington Post, the group claims "it was formed in September 'to engage citizens from every walk of life and political affiliation' in the fight against 'runaway spending.'" The only expenditures have been for these ads. Schuster is the top contributor to Kratovil's Republican opponent, Andy Harris.[20][21][22][23]
| Year | Office | Election | Subject | Party | Votes | % | Opponent | Party | Votes | % | Opponent | Party | Votes | % | Opponent | Party | Votes | % | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Queen Anne's County State's Attorney[24] | General | Frank Kratovil | Democratic | 9,169 | 57.23% | Paul W. Comfort | Republican | 6,830 | 42.63% | |||||||||||||
| 2006 | Queen Anne's County State's Attorney[4] | General | Frank Kratovil | Democratic | 13,894 | 100% | |||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | U.S. House, Maryland's 1st district[25] | 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[26] | 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[27] | 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% |
| United States 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 |
| 111th | Senate: B. Mikulski | B. Cardin | House: S. Hoyer | R. Bartlett | E. Cummings | D. Ruppersberger | C. Van Hollen | J. Sarbanes | D. Edwards | F. Kratovil |