CD1 VIDEO: Sen. Ben Cardin Endorses Democrat John LaFerla's Write-In Campaign Against Tea Party Rep. Andy Harris

Maryland's 1st Congressional District race was recently upended when Democratic nominee Wendy Rosen dropped out of the race this month over voter fraud allegations. Democrats, for what its worth, are rallying behind Dr. John LaFerla -- the runner-up in last April's CD1 Democratic Primary. The Chestertown Spy yesterday reported that Senator Ben Cardin was recently on the campaign trail for Dr. LaFerla. You can read a quick excerpt from their coverage and watch a video of Cardin's endorsement below:

CHESTERTOWN SPY: Cardin wasted no time pouncing on Republican incumbent, Dr. Andy Harris, for rejecting a farm bill that would help the Shore’s drought stricken farmers. He read off seven letters that he said would move the bill towards passage after the November election.

“Let me just spell his name, L-A-F-E-R-L-A,” Cardin said—reminding voters that LaFerla is a write-in candidate. “The Farm Bill passed the Senate with strong bi-partisan support, but we just can’t seem to get it out of the House of Representatives....”

More on the CD1 race soon!

REMATCH?: Former Rep. Wayne Gilchrest Weighs Challenge to Rep. Andy Harris // LaFerla Still Wants to Replace Wendy Rosen

former CD1 Rep. Wayne Gilchrest

DOUBLE-UPDATE: The Baltimore Sun is reporting that 1st Congressional District Democrats have voted to back John LaFerla to challenge GOP Rep. Andy Harris this November (excerpt below):

BALTIMORE SUN: LaFerla said the 12 Democratic central committees in the 1st District, which includes the Eastern Shore and parts of Baltimore, Harford, Carroll and Cecil counties, had voted to support him....

UPDATE: A Twitter user has informed us that Gilchrest is now denying the rumors and claiming he is not going to wage a write-in campaign. Others, however, raise the possibility that this means Gilchrest may switch sides and seek the CD1 Democratic nomination in 2014.

Former Congressman Wayne Gilchrest is reportedly interested in challenging incumbent Rep. Andy Harris in a re-match in this November's Presidential Election. Harris defeated Gilchrest in the 2008 Republican Primary in Maryland's 1st Congressional District. But Gilchrest is apparently thinking of capitalizing on the fact that Democrats are forced to wage a write-in campaign after last week's epic fail. Maryland Juice recently discussed the collapse of Rosen's campaign, after it was discovered that she had been voting in two states. The discovery led to swift condemnation from the Maryland Democrats.

As we noted, Rosen has now dropped out of the Congressional race, but Democrats are unable to replace her on the ballot. Instead, they've indicated they are going to wage a write-in campaign against Tea Party incumbent Rep. Andy Harris. Delmarva Now reports that former CD1 Congressman Wayne Gilchrest is interested in the race, but it is unclear if he is thinking of trying to get the Democratic Party's backing or going it alone. The Democrats, for what it's worth, are in a really tough position right now, because write-in campaigns are rarely successful (DC Mayor Tony Williams being a notable exception). Moreover, the last round of redistricting also made the district more Republican. Read this excerpt from the Delmarva Now report:

CD1 OMG: Rep. Andy Harris' Opponent Drops Out After Voting in 2 States // Dems to Write-In Replacement for Wendy Rosen

PLUS: Democratic runner-up John LaFerla is up for the challenge of waging a write-in campaign against Tea Party Rep. Andy Harris

Wendy Rosen: "Did I Do That?"

Wendy Rosen is causing chaos today, after abruptly resigning as the Democrats' 1st Congressional District nominee. Rosen, a former Republican, won the right to take on Tea Party Rep. Andy Harris for his Eastern Shore-anchored U.S. House seat after winning last April's Democratic Primary. But Delmarva Now reported on her resignation from the race earlier today, due to "personal issues:"

DELMARVA NOW: Wendy Rosen, the Democratic candidate challenging Andy Harris for the Eastern Shore’s congressional seat, has resigned from the race.

In an email sent to Yvette Lewis, chairwoman of the Maryland Democratic Party, Monday, Rosen said she regrets the decision to withdraw from the race, but believes Maryland’s 1st Congressional District still deserves a candidate to challenge incumbent Republican Congressman Andy Harris in November.

MARYLAND DEMS ASK WENDY ROSEN TO WITHDRAW FROM CD1 RACE AFTER DISCOVERING HER VOTER FRAUD (?!?) HISTORY: In a follow-up report to the story, The Associated Press divulged that Wendy Rosen's "personal issues" were that she has committed voter fraud. OMG! Talk about "off message" -- this is truly astonishing.

GOP JuiceBlender: Roscoe Bartlett Flails, Andy Harris Inaction on Job Cuts, 2014 GOP Primary, New RNC Committee Member

UPDATE: It appears that the Tea Party now has a platform agenda to appeal to women: tax cuts for women's shoes!

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Apologies for the pause from Maryland Juice over the weekend. I had to stop and #occupylife.  In any case, here's a random blend of political tidbits about Maryland Republicans from recent political news. We begin the roundup with a Baltimore Magazine profile of embattled CD6 Rep. Roscoe Bartlett:

JUICE #1: REP. ROSCOE BARTLETT ADMITS THIS IS HIS FIRST REAL CAMPAIGN - In order to gauge the chances of a particular candidate's success, many national pundits will look at past party performance, registration data, polls, fundraising, endorsements and many other factors to guide their ratings. However, Maryland Juice believes that utilizing existing campaign infrastructure can also be critical for an incumbent heading into a hotly contested head-to-head race. To be clear, I'm not talking about political infrastructure, which many incumbents do have gobs of. Political infrastructure is about knowing insiders; campaign infrastructure is about being able to interact with non-insiders. The two are not synonymous, as State Sen. Garagiola learned in his failed CD6 Democratic Primary bid earlier this month. The same fate may soon befall GOP Rep. Roscoe Bartlett. If you're wondering why many voters still don't know who Rep. Bartlett is, consider his recent comments in a Baltimore Magazine profile (excerpt below):

CD1 UPDATE: John LaFerla's Democratic Primary Concession Statement // Wendy Rosen to Face Tea Party Rep. Andy Harris

UPDATE: With more absentee ballots in, it looks like Wendy Rosen is ending this race with a 58-vote margin over John LaFerla. See the current unofficial results below:

Last Updated 04/13/2012 03:46:07 PM

Congressional District 01 Democratic (Vote for One) Details
Name	Party	Early Voting	Election Day	Absentee / Provisional	Total Votes	Percentage
John LaFerla	Democratic	2,009	8,382	458	10,849	42.8%
Kim Letke	Democratic	571	2,794	199	3,564	14.1%
Wendy Rosen	Democratic	1,587	8,928	392	10,907	43.1%

82 votes currently separate Wendy Rosen and John LaFerla in the 1st Congressional District Democratic Primary. Nevertheless, Mr. LaFerla has conceded the race in a statement on his Facebook page. Hat tip to Monoblogue, a conservative Eastern Shore-based blog. Tomorrow, Thursday, April 13th, the Board of Elections will count the remaining absentee ballots in the CD1 Democratic Primary. There appear to be a couple hundred votes not yet counted, but even still, Mr. LaFerla believes it is highly unlikely the outcome will change.

Read John LaFerla's concession statement below:

JOHN LAFERLA: Now that most of the absentee and provisional ballots have been counted, it is clear that the result of the Democratic Primary in the 1st Congressional District will not change and I will not be nominee of our party.

I would like to congratulate Wendy Rosen for winning the nomination of our party and I wholeheartedly endorse her candidacy and urge all my supporters to get behind her so we can defeat Andy Harris this November.

I want to thank everyone who supported our campaign to bring common sense to Congress. While we came up short, the issues we talked about remain vital to the future of our District and our Nation. While I won’t be in Congress, I hope to continue working with all of you in other ways to build a brighter future for everyone in our community.

On to the November General Election!

CD1 UPDATE: Wendy Rosen Leads John LaFerla By 84 Votes in Current Absentee Count for Eastern Shore Democratic Primary

UPDATE: Hold on to your hats, folks! A source informs us that they believe the absentee results coming in are geographically biased, because entire counties haven't reported in yet.

WENDY ROSEN LEADS JOHN LAFERLA BY 84-VOTE MARGIN: As of primary election night this Tuesday, April 3rd, Maryland's 1st Congressional District Democratic Primary looked like it was a cliffhanger. Wendy Rosen ended the night 124 votes ahead of John LaFerla. But with the absentee ballots now counted, it appears that Mr. LaFerla has narrowed but not closed the gap.

Wendy Rosen is now 84 votes ahead of John LaFerla in the unofficial vote totals. See the screenshot of the election results below (click image to enlarge). The current count includes 1,272 absentee and/or provisional ballots.

Delmarva Now earlier today had a synopsis of the current status in the race, including the number of total absentee ballots -- which they state as 1,200 received out of roughly 1,600 mailed. Many of those ballots appear to have been tabulated in the current Board of Elections results. That means only the ballots not yet received by the BOE appear to be missing from the count. That number could be around 330 ballots outstanding. If that is true, LaFerla would need to be winning roughly 2-1 in the remaining ballots in order to prevail. Note: If I am reading this incorrectly, let me know: david@marylandjuice.com. At least one source thinks there may be even more ballots outstanding than I am accounting for.

DELMARVA NOW: As of Wednesday, Wendy Rosen was the top vote-getter, leading John LaFerla of Chestertown by just 124 votes out of more than 24,000 cast in Tuesday's balloting. The State Board of Elections said that votes from one precinct with 88 registered Democrats remained to be counted; on Wednesday, the board began counting absentee ballots. Nearly 1,600 were mailed to the district's registered Democrats, and nearly 1,200 had been returned by Tuesday.

Will this be an 84 vote photo-finish?

CD1: Democrats Divided on Choice to Fight Rep. Andy Harris // Rep. Ruppersberger, NARAL, Sun Split Endorsements

UPDATE: Former Congressman Wayne Gilchrest is endorsing John LaFerla in the CD1 race.

The 1st Congressional District Democratic Primary in Maryland's Eastern Shore (and beyond), is finally beginning to take shape. Three Democrats are vying for the right to take on Tea Party Rep. Andy Harris (click on their names to visit their websites):

• John LaFerla
• Kim Letke
• Wendy Rosen

It appears that endorsing entities are dividing on the race and supporting different candidates. See examples of the various statement of support below:

JOHN LAFERLA ENDORSEMENTS: 

VIDEO: CD1 Democrats Debate // John LaFerla, Kim Letke & Wendy Rosen Vie for Chance to Replace Rep. Andy Harris

Last week, Talbot County Democrats hosted a Democratic candidates forum for Maryland's 1st Congressional District Primary. Candidates John LaFerla, Kim Letke and Wendy Rosen are competing for the privilege of taking on Tea Party Rep. Andy Harris this November. The Easton Star Democrat provided coverage of the debate, along with video footage of the candidates (see below):

"We can win this election," said Carl Widell, chairman of Talbot's Democratic Forum, who introduced the candidates and served as moderator.

Essex Patch: Do Voters Need Their Candidates To Look Like Suits? // 1st District Democrat Wendy Rosen's Photo

Maryland Juice caught an interesting debate in last week's Essex Patch. Wendy Rosen, a candidate for the 1st Congressional District Democratic Primary, submitted the following photo to the Patch for an article:

Apparently, the photo was intended to convey frustration with GOP Rep. Andy Harris, but Patch readers had a range of reaction. Their article notes:

CD1: Another Democrat Files Against GOP Rep. Andy Harris // Former Rep. Frank Kratovil One Step Closer to Judge

Delmarva Now reports that another Democrat has filed to run against Maryland's Tea Party Congressman Andy Harris. Notably, the new candidate, John LaFerla, highlights that Rep. Harris is more B'more than Shore:

John LaFerla of Chestertown and Wendy Rosen of Cockeysville have registered with the state Board of Elections for the Democratic primary, scheduled for April 3. However, only one of them will be able to face off with Rep. Andy Harris next November.

LaFerla, an OB/GYN at Corsica Women's Health with a master's degree in public health, said he wants to represent the Eastern Shore by promoting the health of the Chesapeake Bay and environmental stewardship, as well as job creation....

"I think the Eastern Shore was previously well represented when we had Wayne Gilchrest or Frank Kratovil because they lived on the Shore," said LaFerla. "Now we have a representative who lives just outside of Baltimore; it doesn't seem quite right."

LaFerla has served in public office before as treasurer and president of the Kent County Democratic Central Committee.

Speaking of Frank Kratovil, a Maryland Juice reader points out that two days ago, his name was formally sent along to Governor O'Malley in consideration for a judgeship. The vacancy was caused by the retirement of Judge John T. Clark, III of the District Court for Queen Anne's County.

Our source directed readers to the Maryland Courts website, which indicates on 12/6, Mr. Kratovil's name was transmitted to the Governor, along with three others:

MD GOP Rep. Andy Harris Endorses Newt Gingrich // Plus, Anti-Tea Party Republican Becomes Democrat, Challenges Harris

Maryland's beloved Tea Party Congressman Andy Harris is back in the news today with his endorsement of former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich for President. Politico this morning had the exclusive:

EXCLUSIVE – ANDY HARRIS TO ENDORSE GINGRICH: Maryland Congressman Andy Harris will endorse Newt Gingrich today. The freshman Republican, who was not in the House during Gingrich’s tenure as Speaker, will be the first of several federal and state legislators to announce their support for the surging presidential candidate, according to a source familiar with the rollout plan.

It will be interesting to see what Mr. Harris' Tea Party fans think about this endorsement. Indeed, the National Journal recently opined on this topic with an articled titled, "Can Newt Gingrich Pass Tea Party Muster?" They wrote:

Newt Gingrich doesn’t seem like the tea party’s type. He’s the ultimate Washington insider, a career politician who spent two decades in that reviled institution known as the U.S. Congress. Especially when compared to stick it-to-the-man tea party heroes like Rep. Allen West of Florida and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Gingrich doesn’t seem to fit the part. He is the man.

Meanwhile, Mr. Harris is facing a challenge of his own from a fellow Republican. The Elkton-based Cecil Whig site reports that small business advocate Wendy Rosen has switched her registration to the Democratic Party and is now challenging Mr. Harris. Her interview with Cecil Whig seems to convey frustration with the Tea Party and Mr. Harris' focus on hot-button social issues instead of the economy and jobs: