DCCC chair says 5th District race ‘is for keeps’

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman Chris Van HollenState Sen. Kurt Schrader, a Democratic hopeful in the 5th Congressional District, got a little help from a friend when U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, came to town to spread the word that the 5th will stay Dem-territory.

Schrader-who has a bit of personal wealth of his own in the form of a family trust-is running against businessman Mike Erickson, who spent over a million dollars of his own money in the Republican primary.

"Sometimes you have self-funded millionaires on the other side and we just want to send a clear message that this is a priority for us. This is for keeps," Van Hollen said, managing a jibe at Erickson and an expression of the national importance of the district at the same time.

"This is a campaign that's going to do just great on its own, but what we're here for is in the event that unexpected things happen, that people understand this is a priority for us," said Van Hollen.

Unexpected things assuredly have happened in the District over the past several months; in Feburary Congresswoman Darlene Hooley announced her retirement, setting off a scramble of candidates. Less than two weeks before the primary, Erickson's opponent, Kevin Mannix, dropped serious allegations that Erickson-who claims to be pro-life-paid for a girlfriend to get an abortion.