Republican Andy Harris leads Democrat Frank Kratovil by 4 points, but within the margin or error, according to a new poll.
  
Harris, a state Senator from Cockeysville, is currently competing against Kratovil, the Queen Anne's County state attorney, for the open 1st Congressional District seat.
 
The poll was paid for by Daily Kos -- a liberal-leaning blog -- and conducted by Research 2000. It asked, "If the election for Congress were held today would you vote for Frank Kratovil the Democrat or Andy Harris the Republican?"
 
Forty-four percent chose Harris, 40 percent said Kratovil and 16 percent were undecided.

Harris's campaign manager, Chris Meekins, said the results of the poll suggest voters are catching onto Harris's message.
 
"When even a liberal sponsored poll has Kratovil losing to Andy, you know Andy's message is resonating with voters," Meekins wrote in an email to PolitickerMD.com.
 
The Kratovil campaign declined comment.
 
The poll also showed John McCain leading Barack Obama in the 1st District 47 percent to 43 percent with 7 percent undecided and 3 percent choosing "other."
 
The poll surveyed 400 likely voters in the 1st District and was conducted from Oct. 20 through Oct. 23. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent.
 
Thirty-seven percent of respondents were Democrats, 34 percent were Republicans and 29 percent were either independents or belonged to a third party.