Republican · Maryland's 1st District · 2026
Andy Harris
Harris likes spending time on the Chesapeake Bay, gardening and fixing old cars with his sons.
Biography
Andy Harris likes gardening, being on the Chesapeake Bay and fixing cars with his sons and stepson.1 A father of five and grandfather, he lives in Dorchester County with his wife, Nicole, whom he married in 2017.1
Born in Brooklyn, Harris studied medicine at Johns Hopkins while living in a one room apartment and working nights and weekends as a blood bank technician.1 He went on to practice anesthesiology at Hopkins for almost three decades and later worked at Eastern Shore hospitals.1
Harris also served in the Navy Reserve Medical Corps, establishing and commanding a Hopkins reserve unit.1 During Desert Shield and Desert Storm, his recalled unit cared for service members, veterans and returning prisoners of war at Bethesda Naval Hospital.1 He won election to the Maryland Senate in 1998 and began his eighth House term in 2025.1 His current roles include chairing the House Freedom Caucus and the Appropriations subcommittee handling agriculture, rural development and the FDA.2
His health platform supports insurance purchases across state lines, continued access for people with preexisting conditions and greater authority for physicians in medical decisions.3 He has also highlighted federal awards for rural health centers and opioid treatment research in his district.3 Harris advocates lower federal spending and presents fiscal restraint as a central congressional priority.2 He faces Democrat Dan Schwartz.4
Record and controversies
Public press recording dispute
In October 2026, Harris told a student reporter to stop recording a public press event and threatened police involvement, invoking Maryland's recording consent law.5 The Hill reported that the law does not apply in public situations without a reasonable expectation of privacy.5 Harris defended the exchange, saying the reporter had criticized how the event was run and that he was pushing back against what he called the liberal media.5