ROYAL OAK - Speaking at a weekend fundraiser where he tried to stress a bipartisan political approach, state's Attorney Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville) accused his Republican opponent of being outside the political mainstream and practicing "politics as usual."

"If you look at my opponent's background, he thinks things are going great in this country," Kratovil said of state Sen. Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville). "He believes we don't need change and I believe we do."

Kratovil continued criticizing his opponent. "If you look at votes my opponent has had in the Maryland legislature on a whole host of issues, it demonstrates extremism that I don't think benefits the majority of the people in this district," he said.

Harris Campaign Manager Chris Meekins defended his candidate in an interview with PolitickerMD.com.

"Andy's record on both fighting for lower taxes and less wasteful government spending is exactly what voters in the 1st District want," Meekins said.

Kratovil began his stump speech with a brief introduction and a few jokes, but the meat of his speech focused on policy and his opponent.

"I'm running for congress because I feel the same way that the vast majority of Americans in this country feel: they are tired of politics as usual in Washington," Kratovil told the crowd. "They're tired of the negative hate kind of campaigning. They're very, very tired of the extreme partisan nature in politics and I think people are very, very frustrated."

He continued: "Obviously I'm a Democrat and I'm a Democrat for a reason, but I prefer to think of partisanship the way that John F. Kennedy did. What he said was ‘principle was more important than party, and sometimes party loyalty demands to much'."

The MD-1 Democratic nominee continued to stress bipartisanship and noted his support for the right to own firearms, in addition to calling illegal immigration one of his pet peeves.

Kratovil then condemned Harris for taking money from the Club for Growth, which he described as an "extreme economic group that goes around the country knocking off moderate Republicans."

The Sunday fundraiser was hosted by Fred and Leslie Israel and Tim Quinn. Tickets were priced at $25 per person, $50 per family and $250 for VIP.

According to Tim McCan, Kratovil's campaign manager, about 240 guests attended the event, which raised about $15,000. 

Attendees included former U.S. Sen. John B. Breaux (D-La.), former U.S. Sen. Birch Bayh (D-Ind.), Gov. Harry Hughes (D), state's Attorney Scott Patterson (D-Talbot County), and Del. Norman Conway (D-Salisbury).  

Kartovil and Harris are currently competing for Maryland's 1st Congressional District seat. MD-1 includes 12 of the 24 counties in the state, which encompasses all of the Eastern Shore and portions of Harford, Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties.