Bartlett Preps for Battle in District 6

Despite Prospect Of Win, Incumbent Steps Up Efforts

If voter registration patterns and history are any guide, the contest in Maryland's 6th Congressional District should be an easy victory for the GOP. But the incumbent, an energetic and somewhat unconventional conservative, says he is running as if he were 20 points behind, stepping up efforts to retain the seat he has held since 1992.

A victory by Democratic challenger Jennifer Dougherty, a former Frederick mayor, over Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett, a dairy farmer with degrees in biology, physiology and theology, is still a long shot. Democrat-turned-Libertarian Gary W. Hoover Sr. of Clear Spring is also on the ballot.

The eight-county district, which includes a portion of Montgomery, has more registered Republicans than Democrats. But observers say the teetering economy makes the contest more uncertain than usual.

Dougherty, 47, whose sometimes intense years as mayor drew mixed reviews, is more conservative than some fellow Democrats with her views on illegal immigration, urging a get-tough policy on employers. But she also embraces many Democratic positions, such as making health care more widely available.

And she says that her experience running a small city government is sorely lacking in Washington. She acknowledged that unseating Bartlett is a big challenge but said her polling shows Bartlett running behind Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the GOP presidential nominee, which could help her.

She scoffs at Bartlett's claims that the Republicans bear no responsibility for the financial crisis. "He can't say it is just bad home mortgages," she said.

Bartlett, 82, is the Maryland delegation's oldest member and has no plans to retire. He commutes to the capital from his dairy farm in Buckeystown. He says the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, headed by Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, is pouring money into the Eastern Shore race to succeed Republican Wayne T. Gilchrest but has stayed out of Bartlett's district.

Bartlett has sought to distance himself from the economic crisis, seeking instead to blame Democrats for "overregulation." He was the only Maryland lawmaker to vote against the $700 billion bailout bill. "You can't reward bad behavior," he said.

"This is a very conservative 'red' district," he said. "I am a very conservative congressman who has kept my promises to my constituents." The district, he said, has "more kids in the military academies than any other district in the country."

Bartlett sits on the House Armed Services Committee and the Committee on Science and Technology.

His internal polling, he said, shows that he will carry the district by 15 points.

He is also substantially ahead in the money race, with about $375,000 available to spend, compared with Dougherty's $27,000 in cash on hand as of Sept. 30. Tim Magrath, a political science instructor at Frostburg State University and former staffer for House and Senate Democrats, said Dougherty has not been able to do enough to get herself known in the western part of the district. "When people meet her, they like her. It's a Democratic year, and that is a wildcard," he said. But Magrath thinks Bartlett will probably win.

Former congresswoman Beverly Byron, a conservative Democrat, held the seat before losing in a primary in an election that ushered Bartlett into office in 1992. She calls this year's contest "a horse race."

"I did not have that feeling for the last many years," she said. She is backing Dougherty and has begun to make appearances with her.