Chestertown, MD – A Washington College poll released today shows challenger Heather Mizeur in a tight race with six-term incumbent Andy Harris for Maryland’s First Congressional District.

The Eastern Shore Opinion Poll, which polled registered voters across the entire First District, found Harris with a 45-39 lead, a separation between the two candidates of just six percentage points (with a four-point margin of error). Harris garnered the support of well under 50 percent of respondents, despite his high name recognition after 12 years in Congress.

The number of undecided respondents, 13 percent, far exceeds the margin between the two candidates, indicating a contest that is truly up for grabs entering the final weekend before Election Day.

“The polling data released today confirms what we’ve been saying for months: This is a competitive race, and the momentum is on our side,” said Noah Habenstreit, Mizeur’s campaign manager. “Andy Harris, a six-term incumbent, is polling well under 50 percent just days before the election – an extremely weak position in a district where Republicans outnumber Democrats by a significant margin.”

The poll also reveals a serious approval problem for Harris. Only 41 percent of respondents rated him favorably, even as 59 percent identified as Republicans or Republican-leaning independents. Mizeur’s net favorability rating, according to the poll, is +9, while Harris’s is only +4.

“For weeks now, the feeling on the ground has indicated a very close race that is breaking our way – and now there’s solid evidence for what we’ve all been feeling,” said Heather Mizeur, candidate for Congress in Maryland’s First District. “Our message of unity and bipartisanship is resonating and our movement is growing as we roll toward victory.” 

Original source can be found here