State Sen. Andy Harris accepted the congratulations of Republican and Democratic colleagues alike in the State House the morning after pulling off an upset of longtime Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest in Maryland's 1st Congressional District.
Speaking to reporters before the Senate convened this morning, Harris said he thought GOP voters responded to his campaign stressing his fiscal conservatism. Harris, Gilchrest and the other GOP challenger, state Sen. E.J. Pipkin, had each tried to portray himself as the true conservative and paint the opponents as liberals.
"I think that the voters want a change, I think that's pretty clear," Harris said of Maryland's primary election returns yesterday, which also saw the defeat of Democratic incumbent Rep. Al Wynn in the 4th District.
Harris, a Johns Hopkins anesthesiologist, said he expected to win in November over Frank Kratovil, who won the Democratic primary. The 1st District, which stretches from Baltimore County across the Chesapeake Bay to the Eastern Shore, has voted Republican consistently in congressional races for years.
Pipkin, who arrived late for the Senate session, shook Harris's hand before taking his seat. Afterward, he said Harris ran "a great race," and despite the negative things each had said about the other during the campaign, he pledged to work for Harris' election in November.
"It's time for the party to come together," Pipkin said. "It's now time to move on."
Pipkin called late last night to congratulate Harris on his victory. Harris said he had yet to hear from Gilchrest, a veteran and former teacher whose 18-year tenure in the House now comes to a close.
