Republican Andy Harris wins reelection in Maryland’s 1st District

GOP Rep. Andy Harris won his ninth term in Congress on Tuesday, maintaining Maryland’s sole Republican presence in the House of Representatives despite Democrats sweeping races across the country.

The Associated Press called the election result at 11:45 p.m., with Harris defeating Democrat Dan Schwartz and ending the first-time candidate’s bid to flip the seat. The race drew national attention last month when Harris scolded audience members and later the media at a debate.

Despite a blue wave that gave Democrats control over Congress, Harris remains one of Washington’s most powerful Republicans, with a direct line to President Donald Trump, leading the conservative House Freedom Caucus and holding a leadership role in federal spending.

Harris’ victory is unsurprising amid a grim political climate for Republicans. The district, which covers all nine counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and parts of Baltimore and Harford counties, is drawn to elect a Republican and has made him the state’s only GOP member of Congress for more than a decade.

All seven Democratic incumbents in Maryland’s federal delegation, most running in solidly blue territory, sailed through their reelections.

Harris gathered with a few dozen supporters at the Portside Seafood Restaurant in Cambridge to watch the results. Banner reporters attending the watch party with journalists from other outlets were asked to leave the private event after a Harris aide asked them where they worked.

A Harris spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment after the election was called.

First elected in 2010, the former state senator representing Baltimore County rode a Tea Party wave into Congress, defeating former Democratic Rep. Frank Kratovil. Harris has since won every election by double-digit margins.

Harris often aligns with President Donald Trump’s MAGA agenda, including voting for extensive cuts to food and healthcare benefits in exchange for tax breaks for the wealthy in Trump’s tax plan, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Those cuts could mean losses of or changes to benefits for tens of thousands of people in his district.

Harris is known among Maryland Republicans for his support of the Eastern Shore’s seafood and farming industries, which are traditional GOP voting blocs. A prolific earmarker, Harris has brought tens of millions of federal dollars to his district for community projects like fire trucks and creek dredging.

Die-hard GOP voters stuck by their party, voted for Harris and hoped Republicans would keep control of Congress.

Joanne Harwood, a Republican from Easton, voted for Harris to keep her district red.

“He votes Republican, and he votes with President Trump,” the 83-year-old said of Harris. Harwood, who is retired from selling commercial real estate, likes Trump’s policy to stop unauthorized immigration at the U.S. southern border and to keep Iran from building a nuclear weapon.

Republican Stephen Parks of Federalsburg said he voted for Harris because of a distrust of Democrats in the state, like Gov. Wes Moore. Parks, a 43-year-old small-business owner, blamed Moore’s party for high taxes and fees.

“We had a surplus, now we have a deficit. We have budget issues,” he said.

Schwartz, a former consumer protection watchdog, quit his job in April 2025 to launch a full-time campaign to beat Harris. Moore and members of Maryland’s federal delegation have supported his campaign.

Schwartz said he planned to call Harris to concede after the official call was made. The husband and father of three held an election night party in a room packed with dozens of friends, family and supporters at a Stevensville brewpub.

Just hours before, the crowd had been whooping and hollering as favorable results poured in for Democrats across the country. But the blue wave didn’t reach Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

Schwartz celebrated his party’s triumph across the country as the last of his supporters lingered in the bar.

“I commend all of the candidates that won tonight and all the hard fighting candidates who didn’t,” he said.

During the Cambridge campaign debate, Harris drew laughter and jeers from the audience after he blamed soaring diesel prices on Democratic environmental regulations. He lashed out at audience members, telling them they were “rude” for their response.

Moments after the debate ended, Harris berated members of the press and singled out a student journalist who asked him to respect her colleagues. He falsely claimed that she was violating Maryland’s wiretap law when she refused to stop recording him and threatened her with prosecution.

Harris’ performance gave his opponent’s campaign a financial boost and name recognition as the videotaped incident made its way to national news broadcasts.

“I wasn’t happy about it,” said Cindi Link, a Republican from Federalsburg, who saw Harris’ argument with a reporter. But it didn’t change her decision to vote for him.

Harris isn’t her first choice, the 61-year-old counselor said, but Democrats didn’t give her “something to vote for.”

Both parties have been locked in a battle over control of Congress. Trump last summer asked state legislatures to redraw congressional maps to favor GOP candidates.

Democrats, who hold the majority in Maryland’s General Assembly, have eyed Harris’ district as an offering. Voters approved a ballot measure Tuesday that could make it easier for Democrats to draw Harris out of Congress.

Both Harris and Schwartz opposed the ballot measure, saying they preferred to battle it out at the polls.

The 120th Congress will be sworn in on Jan. 3, 2027.

Banner columnist Rick Hutzell contributed to this story.