Frank Kratovil, the former Democratic congressman who represented the Eastern Shore, says Maryland's newly drawn 1st District was "one of the factors" driving his decision not to seek a rematch against Republican Rep. Andy Harris in 2012.
Kratovil, a former Queen Anne's County State's Attorney who won election to the House in 2008 and then lost in 2010, had for months flirted with a rematch against Harris. But his decision, first reported by The Gazette, is not a surprise given that state Democrats in Annapolis targeted GOP Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett rather than Harris.
Kratovil said the new map was a factor, but "not a controlling one."
"It was a very difficult decision," he said. "I think what's happening in Washington is very disillusioning."
Kratovil, who took a job this year with the Prince George's County State's Attorney, could not name any other Democrats in the district he thought might run.
