Gilchrest accused of ‘dirty tricks’

ANNAPOLIS — Supporters of state Sen. Andrew P. Harris‘ campaign to unseat Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest say the incumbent’s top aide pushed another candidate into the Republican primary to dilute support for Mr. Harris.

“This is [Mr. Gilchrest’s] insurance card that he doesn’t lose the race,” said state Sen. Nancy Jacobs, Harford County Republican. “It’s dirty tricks. It’s what goes on behind the scenes. But to get caught with your hand in the cookie jar.”

Mrs. Jacobs and other Harris supporters say Tony Caligiuri, Mr. Gilchrest’s chief of staff, asked Robert Joseph Banks to enter the race.

Mr. Harris is the strongest challenger to Mr. Gilchrest, who has held the 1st Congressional District seat for nine terms.

Although Mr. Gilchrest has fended off strong challengers before, his vote against the Democrat-backed Iraq war resolution in March and a redistricting plan in 2002 have made him more vulnerable to defeat.

Mr. Gilchrest has further alienated the Republican base by supporting full congressional voting rights for the District, frequently siding with environmentalists and testifying in 2004 against a proposal by Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. to legalize slot machines.

Mr. Ehrlich, a Republican, recently gave his support to Mr. Harris, Baltimore and Harford counties Republican, who spent four years working for votes for him in the Democrat-controlled General Assembly and helped raise $180,000 for Mr. Ehrlich’s unsuccessful re-election bid last year.

State Democrats restructured Mr. Gilchrest’s district in 2002 to include metropolitan Baltimore, which cuts into his Eastern Shore base.

Eastern Shore lawyers Frank M. Kratovil Jr. and Christopher R. Robinson are running for the Democratic nomination. The primary is Feb. 12, and the general election is Nov. 4, 2008.

Mrs. Jacobs said one of her former staffers now working for the Gilchrest campaign told her about the plan to enlist Mr. Banks, a technology executive.

Mr. Banks yesterday denied the accusations.

“Absolutely not,” he said. “It sounds like a vast right-wing conspiracy.”

Mr. Banks entered the race this month, increasing the number of Republicans to five and thinning the chances for a challenger to defeat Mr. Gilchrest.

Mr. Caligiuri denied asking Mr. Banks to run and said Mrs. Jacobs is “really kind of losing it.”

“She’s swinging at shadows at this point,” he said yesterday. “Last I heard, Banks was criticizing Gilchrest.”

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