Updated: 1:02 p.m. EDT

Outgoing Republican Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (Md.) endorsed Democrat Frank Kratovil in the race to fill his Eastern Shore seat at a news conference in Annapolis on Tuesday morning.

Gilchrest lost to state Sen. Andy Harris in a bitter Republican primary earlier this year, and several of his former staffers had already gone over to Kratovil’s camp. But the move by the longtime moderate could prove to be pivotal in a district that Democrats hope to pick off.

“I have known and talked to Andy Harris for 10 years and we disagree on almost everything,” Gilchrest said in a conference call with Kratovil on Tuesday morning. However, “this is not about Andy Harris. … This is about the best representation for the 1st district.”

Kratovil called Gilchrest’s endorsement “a breath of fresh air with all the complaints people have with partisanship in Washington.”