EASTON – Former Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (R) joined state Sen. Andy Harris (R-Cockeysville) for a fundraiser last night in Easton. The cost of admission to the Denny family’s house party was $250 for couples. VIP entrance was priced at $1,000, which included a photo with Steele.

The former lieutenant governor and chair of GOPAC opened the event for Harris. He began by praising key Republican operatives.

“It’s important work, its hard work. Particularly in this climate, in which the Republican brand quite frankly sucks,” Steele said. “I mean it stinks, it’s ugly, it’s painful, but in all that I see opportunity.”

The former lieutenant governor also took a moment to mock U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Mechanicsville).

“I don’t know if you’ve seen the comments of Steny Hoyer who bragged ‘oh-heck-gee’ we can get two congressional seats,” he told the crowd. “Go ahead Steny - keep talkin, keep talkin. We’ve got a thing for you and it’s called Andy Harris.”

After yielding the Denny family’s living room floor to Harris, the MD-1 Republican nominee began discussing energy. “Explore for it [oil] here, don’t depend on enemies of the United States for energy,” Harris told the crowd.

He also touched on earmarks: “Just say no to earmarks.”

“Our politicians in Washington are addicted to earmarks, and you can’t just do a little bit of it, you gotta say no to it in its entirety,” he said.

The state Senator also took a moment to comment on U.S. Sen. Barack Obama: “People use the word ‘scared’ to talk about Barack Obama,” said Harris. “That kind of intensity is unusual.”

Further into his speech, Harris said that he would meet the campaign’s second financial quarter goals, but did not say how much he had risen specifically.

Andy Harris is currently running for congress in Maryland’s 1st Congressional District against state's Attorney Frank Kratovil (D-Stevensville). The race is seen by some observers as one of the most competitive in the country. Although the district trends Republican, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has seen an opportunity to pick up the seat, and has added Harris’s opponent to its Red-to-Blue program. MD-1 includes 12 of the 24 counties in the state, which encompasses all of the Eastern Shore and portions of Harford and Baltimore counties.