Election 2022: Chestertown’s Heather Mizeur Leads Rep. Andy Harris in Fundraising

Heather Mizeur, a former state delegate running to unseat Maryland’s lone Congressional Republican, reported raising $1.32 million in 2021 — a figure her campaign says is a record for the district in a non-election year.

Year-end campaign finance reports, detailing financial activity between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, were due to the Federal Elections Commission by midnight Monday.

Mizeur’s campaign for the 1st Congressional District reported outraising incumbent Rep. Andrew P. Harris (R) in the fourth quarter of 2021, as well as the full year.

“Over the decade that Andy Harris has been in office, he has never seen a challenge like this one – fueled by a grassroots army, propelled by everyday Marylanders ready for change, and equipped with an energy strong enough to unseat him once and for all,” Mizeur said in a statement. “This race is just beginning, and I know our movement is geared up to accomplish many more goals and hit many more milestones over the coming months, as we work toward our ultimate aim: sending a pragmatic, bipartisan, dignified leader to represent us in Congress.”

Harris, who handily won reelection bids in the district as it was previously drawn, brought in $790,639 in 2021, including $205,581 in the between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31.

Mizeur’s fundraising haul included $276,886 in the final quarter of 2021, according to her year-end report.

But Harris, who is so-far unopposed in the Republican primary, retains an edge in the amount of cash on hand.

He ended the year with $1,523,650 left in the bank, after spending just over $266,000 throughout 2021.

Mizeur spent $432,670 in 2021, including $150,514 between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, leaving her with $889,687 in cash on hand heading toward the June 28 primary election.

R. David Harden, a foreign policy strategist, is also running for the Democratic nomination.

He reported $253,476 raised in 2021, including $53,634 in the fourth quarter.

Harden spent $175,732 throughout 2021, and ended the year with $77,343 in cash on hand. In a press release, Harden’s campaign wrote that “dollars raised don’t equate to votes,” pointing to Mizeur’s performance on the Eastern Shore during the six-way 2014 Democratic gubernatorial primary when she was a candidate.

“The 2020 election showed that rural and suburban voters still don’t support progressive politics. Mizeur was unelectable in 2014,” Harden’s campaign statement reads. “Nothing has changed.”

Mizeur’s campaign said the lion’s share of donations it received, 82%, were for $100 or less and 83% of donors over the past year were from Maryland.

Mizeur, who represented Montgomery County in the General Assembly and now lives in Chestertown on the Eastern Shore, has racked up endorsements from Democratic members of Maryland’s congressional delegation as she vies for a chance to unseat the state’s lone congressional Republican, U.S. Rep. Andrew P. Harris.

Former Republican Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest, who Harris ousted in the 2008 primary election, also endorsed Mizeur.

Maryland’s 1st District saw significant changes when lawmakers passed a new congressional map during a December special session. The district was previously heavily Republican and looped above the Chesapeake Bay to include portions of Harford, Baltimore and Carroll counties; It now crosses the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to include a portion of Anne Arundel County with the Eastern Shore.

That change is set to make the district more competitive for Democrats in future elections. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added the district to its “districts in play” target list last week.

Harden’s home near Westminster in Carroll County isn’t in the 1st District in Maryland’s new map, although he previously said he’s contemplating a move to the Eastern Shore. The U.S. Constitution requires representatives to live in the state they represent, but not the same district. Harden described the newly drawn 1st District as “perfect” for his campaign in a December interview.

Harris, of Cockeysville in Baltimore County, also doesn’t live in the newly drawn 1st District.

Jennifer Pingley, a registered nurse campaigning for the Democratic nomination, did not report any financial activity.

By Bennett Leckrone and Josh Kurtz