Failing to attract the attention of their Republican U.S. representative, Andy Harris, hundreds of people flocked to a middle school gymnasium on Maryland’s Eastern Shore to hear from a willing Democratic stand-in — U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin.

The Democratic representative made the nearly two-hour drive Saturday from his Montgomery County district at the invitation of Cambridge and Eastern Shore Indivisible, activist groups who have criticized Harris for not holding in-person town halls recently.

The standing room-only crowd packed Mace’s Lane Middle School in Cambridge and enthusiastically rewarded Raskin’s pithy criticisms, and his takedowns of Harris, with raucous applause and many standing ovations.

“What’s interesting is that the people who are showing up are not paid protesters, but the people who are not showing up are paid politicians,” Raskin said, receiving an explosive reaction.

Raskin’s swipe at Harris referenced the accusation made by many Republicans that angry attendees of their own town halls are paid actors.

On stage near Raskin, event organizers put a photo of Harris on a giant cardboard milk carton, the word “MISSING” written above his face. And Raskin took another jab.

“If your name is on the ballot, your face should not be on the milk carton,” he said.

Raskin’s fiery 30-minute speech was a mishmash of civics lessons, democracy pep rally and comic release valve for the swarm of Democrats living in a majority Republican district. He railed against the government-slashing actions of President Donald Trump’s administration and his adviser businessman Elon Musk.

“If I was sent to Washington and I was just watching them begin to try to dismantle Social Security, I’m not going to be showing up, either,” he said, mocking Harris’ decision not to attend the town hall.

Raskin’s district, most of which is in Montgomery County and includes a small piece of Prince George’s County, contains large populations of federal workers and some government agencies. The visit was about backing his people.

“Those are my constituents that are being savaged and attacked,” he said.

Harris has doggedly backed the Trump administration’s policies to dismantle federal agencies such as the Department of Education and fire or lay off federal workers. Harris has around 23,000 federal workers in his district, which includes all of the Eastern Shore and parts of Harford and Baltimore counties. Some of those workers have reached out to Harris and have received emails back sharing his support for Trump to “root out corruption and waste within the federal government.”

Harris’ office did not respond to requests for comment.

According to Harris’ website, he’s hosting a telephone town hall on Tuesday, but it appears the sign-up link is not working as of Saturday. Harris has held in-person town halls, according to his website.

Mark Elliott attended the rally wearing a shirt that read “Flip the First.” Elliott, a Cambridge resident, recognized the odds don’t match the words on his shirt: “Unfortunately, I think we’re stuck with him.”

Harris has repped the solidly red 1st Congressional District since 2010 and most recently won 54% of the vote against Democrat Heather Mizeur in 2022.

Raskin, leader of Trump’s second impeachment proceeding, hung around after his speech to answer questions.

During the question-and-answer segment, many in the crowd asked some version of: What can we do to fight back against what the Trump administration is doing? How can we help people affected should benefits cuts come to pass?

Raskin encouraged them to stay involved and keep showing up. Noting the dozens of rallies he has attended since Trump’s second term started, he said, “A rally a day keeps the fascists away.”

Then he signed autographs and posed for selfies with the mostly older, white crowd rushing the stage to shake his hand.

Despite his onstage swipes at Harris, Raskin said he’s sure Democrats in the federal delegation will continue to work with Harris on unifying issues such as protecting the Chesapeake Bay and rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

For now, their opinions differ on the value of international aid organizations, funds for cancer research, the value of federal workers, education departments and attending in-person town halls.

Raskin called the last one “an essential component” of serving constituents. That’s why he came to the Eastern Shore.

“They called me up and asked if I would come because there hadn’t been a town hall,” he said, “and how could I say no?”

This story has been updated to reflect that Harris has held in-person town halls since 2017.