Andy Harris is a target for Maryland Democrats.
Nothing new there. The Republican congressman has been a pain in their collective keister since he was first elected to the state Senate in 1998.
But in 2026, an unpopular Republican president coupled with a spending bill that busts the federal budget and hurts many of Harris’ constituents could change the outcome.
“If there was ever a year for him to be vulnerable, it’s going to be this next election, because of the outrage at what his guy is doing and his party is doing and what he’s voting for in Congress,” said Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman, chair of the Maryland Democratic Party.
And he said that before Texas Republicans moved to rig the 2026 midterms with a new congressional map.
On this side of the Chesapeake Bay, Andy is seen as a blowhard reactionary. He’s for cuts to safety net programs, against wind energy and says things that reveal him to be a stranger to the truth.
On the other side, he’s a hero to many. Andy hates Big Government, wants immigrants kicked out as soon as they’re done picking crab and stands up to left-wing news media types (like me, I guess).
“I’m with Andy” signs were common across his district in 2024, usually right next to signs for Donald Trump’s campaign.
No matter which Andy is yours, there’s no denying that his eight terms in Washington benefited from gerrymandering.
Harris is a powerhouse in the 1st District, a byproduct of the drive for maximum control by Democrats in Annapolis. It’s rated an R+11, a gap so wide that it’s been written off by serious challengers for years.
Until now.
I asked both Harris and the Maryland GOP to talk about 2026, but neither responded. He’s still ticked off at me.
So, instead, here’s what the Democrats’ pitch will be.
“He is voting to hurt his people,” Pittman said. “He is voting to hurt his farmers. He’s voting to hurt health clinics. He’s voting to hurt education in all of CD 1, and as people start to feel that pain more and more and more in the coming months, they will understand that it is the policies of the federal government that are causing it.”
Democrats are thinking about Harris as events unfold in Texas. At Trump’s urging, Gov. Greg Abbott and the Republican majority are redrawing the state’s congressional maps five years early to give the GOP five more seats.
It’s a bid to keep control of the narrowly divided U.S. House of Representatives in the midterm elections and prevent a meaningful check on Trump.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is moving to cancel out the result, redrawing his state’s maps to take five seats away from Republicans. As other Republican states consider it, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore hasn’t ruled it out.
If Del. David Moon follows up on threats to redraw Maryland maps, Harris could be the target. Neighboring Democrats would likely pay the price.
Moving Annapolis back into the 1st District would hurt U.S. Rep. Sarah Elfreth in the 3rd. Tossing in Democrats from Baltimore County nips at Johnny Olszewski Jr.’s margin in the 2nd. Transplanting parts of St. Mary’s County, where federal workers are furious with Republicans, erodes the safe majority of Steny Hoyer in the 5th.
Democrats could carve out a ninth congressional district, but the math is murky. Or, the party could get behind a candidate who can beat Harris.
“He had a fiefdom that was created for him 20 years ago, so to speak, and he didn’t have to do much except sit on Appropriations and put abortion bills in appropriations,” said John Dixon, chair of the Cecil County Democrats. “I mean, that was kind of his thing, and then he just gets elected with 60% or 70% of the vote.”
Harris raised his profile by becoming the chair of the Freedom Caucus, composed of the most radical conservatives in Congress. That makes him a national target.
“I mean, he was always an odd duck, you know what I mean?” Dixon said. “But now he’s in a national leadership position. So you can nationalize the district.”
National money would force Harris to raise more than the $2.1 million he spent in 2024. It’s not clear that the leader of a bomb-throwers’ caucus, weakened under Harris, will be worth the investment.
With the primary 10 months away, two Democrats have filed.
Dan Schwartz, a former consumer advocate, appears to be the best organized.
The Talbot County resident is raising funds and on the attack. His campaign is focused on Harris’ votes on environmental and farm policy, program cuts and support for the most extreme examples of Trump’s immigration crackdown.
George Walish, a retired auto executive and former town commissioner, is focused on small-group meet-and-greets. He lives in Cecil County.
Moore and party leaders are waiting on a decision from Jake Day, the Maryland housing secretary and former mayor of Salisbury. He has qualities that could matter.
Day isn’t a transplant like Schwartz and Walish. He’s a major in the Maryland National Guard who served on overseas missions.
Statewide politics will play a role, too.
Moore isn’t popular on the Eastern Shore. If former Gov. Larry Hogan seeks to get his old job back, that could help Harris.
Maryland’s other members of Congress see the vulnerability. U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Rep. Jamie Raskin are in the district attacking Trump policies that Harris supports.
The opposition has to solidify long before the primary next June. That will give the candidate time to do the one thing necessary to win.
Get under Harris’ skin.
He prefers controlled settings to talking with angry voters. He lashes out when questioned. It makes him look weak, but he can’t help himself.
Challenging Harris daily — getting the reaction we’ve come to expect — is the best way to convince voters to dump him in 2026.
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