For Kratovil, there’s more to life than Congress

RIDGLEY, Md. — Rep. Frank Kratovil (D-Md.) used to coach his sons’ soccer, baseball and basketball teams. Now, he finds out if they won their games by texting his wife.

Kratovil, a father of four boys ranging in age from 5 to 11, is one of many freshman members of Congress adjusting to his new life. Instead of hitting grounders, Kratovil is busy raising cash for what is expected to be a bruising reelection race next year.

Kratovil, who turned 41 on Friday, raised an impressive $297,000 in the first quarter. But he misses his old life.

“If someone had told me before I ran the first time what it would take to do this, they would have needed to find another candidate, because I underestimated how much money we were going to need to raise and that whole part of it — the money-raising part of it — is so time-consuming and overwhelming,” he told The Hill.

Kratovil told The Hill that if he loses his reelection race, it will not be the end of the world.

“There is much more to life than being a United States congressman. Now, I think I can do a good job. I am hoping that I can find that middle ground, reasonableness, and sort of pragmatic approach. But if, at some point, I found that I could not have that balance between the family and the job, or if I for some reason lost, life would go on. I mean, I’d go back to coaching my kids.”…

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