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October 5, 2022

The Talbot Spy

The nonprofit e-newspaper for the Talbot County Community

News Maryland News

Harris Announces Two Telephone Town Halls This Week

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Congressman Andy Harris, M.D. (MD-01), will hold two telephone town halls this week reaching out to over 100,000 constituents. On Tuesday, September 6th, Congressman Harris’s office will call out to constituents in the western reaches of the district and on the Upper Shore.  Then on Thursday, September 8th, Congressman Harris’s office will call out to constituents living in the Mid-and-Lower Shore.

Important Details: 

Date: Tuesday, September 6, 2022 & Thursday, September 8, 2022.

Time: 7:15PM-8:15PM

Questions about the event can be directed to Congressman Harris’ DC office at (202) 225-5311. Constituents who wish to be removed from the call list should contact Congressman Harris’s DC office.

For media inquiries, please contact Congressman Harris’ Washington, DC office at 202-225-5311, or Anna Adamian at: Anna.A@mail.house.gov

Harris Announces DOT Grant To Extend Easton Newman Field Airport Runway

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Congressman Andy Harris, M.D. (MD-01), the Acting Ranking Member of House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee, is pleased to announce that the Department of Transportation issued a discretionary grant award in the amount of $1,546,734.00 to construct and extend the Easton Newman Field Airport runway in Talbot County. Extending the Easton Newman Field Airport runway will also provide an added measure of safety for both inbound and outbound air traffic as well as the runway maintenance crew. As one of only 84 National level airports, Easton Airport connects the First District as well as many local and statewide communities with access to national travel in multiple states.

Congressman Harris issued the following the statement:

“I am very pleased to see that the Department of Transportation issued this discretionary grant award to improve and extend the Easton Newman Airport runway. This funding is necessary especially at a time when air travel has increased significantly due people traveling more as our lives get back to normal. Extending the Easton Airport runway will also improve the general safety of all runway staff and I look forward to seeing the final completion of this project.”

Harris Announces August 17th Service Academy Information Session Webinar

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Congressman Andy Harris, M.D., announced his annual military service academy information event for high school students interested in pursuing a Congressional nomination to attend one of the nation’s military service academies. The virtual forum will be held on Wednesday, August 17th at 6:30PM, and will run approximately 90 minutes. Congressman Harris will kick off the meeting, followed by a very informative briefing by experts in the selection process and a first-hand look at academy life through the eyes of recent graduates. It will conclude with a question-and-answer session for students and parents.

Interested students must RSVP for the August 17th virtual event with their name, address, phone number, and reliable email address to MD01Academy@mail.house.gov. Individuals who have RSVP’d will receive a confirmation email with a link to join the virtual meeting by Monday, August 15th in the afternoon. Additional questions can be emailed to Congressman Harris’s office at Leo.Thuman@mail.house.gov.

Congressman Harris issued the following statement:

“As a former Service Member, I look forward to again hosting this panel discussion to inform my young constituents about life at the academies and the process for interviewing and selecting candidates. I’m consistently encouraged by the level of interest our young people express in serving our nation.”

Harris Opens 2022 Academy Nomination Process Online

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Congressman Andy Harris, M.D. (MD-01) is pleased to announce that the U.S. Military Service Academies nomination application is now available for students wishing to join the class of 2027. Congressman Harris will nominate some of the finest students from Maryland’s First Congressional District for appointments to the U.S. Military, Naval, Air Force, and Merchant Marine Academies. The Coast Guard Academy does not require a Congressional nomination, though Congressman Harris will recommend interested applicants on a case-by-case basis.

Admission to the service academies is based on SAT/ACT scores, class rank, physical aptitude scores, extracurricular activities, athletic abilities, medical examinations, and a panel interview. Academies accept applications on a rolling basis beginning in September. Final acceptance is also contingent upon receiving a nomination from an authorized source such as one’s Congressman or Senator.

The deadline to apply for a nomination from Congressman Harris is October 24, 2022. All qualified residents of Maryland’s First District are encouraged to apply. Interviews will be conducted in the fall by Congressman Harris’ Military Academy Review Board, which is made up of veterans and reservists of the United States military. The Service Academies will be notified of Congressman Harris’ nominations by December 31, 2022.

Students can complete the nomination application at https://harris.house.gov/services/military-academy-nominations.  For questions, please contact the Military Academy Nomination Coordinator, Leo Thuman, at MD01academy@mail.house.gov.

For media inquiries, please contact Congressman Harris’ Washington, DC office at 202-225-5311, or contact Anna Adamian at: Anna.A@mail.house.gov.

Report: Analysts Say New Map May Not be Enough to Flip First District as Three Democrats Seek Nomination Against Harris

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From The Washington Post comes this analysis of the First District congressional race following the approval of new congressional districts for the state:

“Flipping the 1st District to blue in 2022 became an urgent priority of Maryland Democrats,” Meagan Flynn writes in the Post.

Democratic leaders were outraged by Harris objecting to certifying the 2020 presidential election results following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol as well as his vote against awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to the police agencies that responded to that attack.

Two Democratic challengers, Heather Mizeur and Dave Harden, cited his “actions in the aftermath of the insurrection” as factors in their decisions to run. Jennifer Pingley, the third Democrat in the race, is seeking the Democratic nomination for the second time.

The Maryland General Assembly recently approved “a new congressional map that will put the conservative Eastern Shore-anchored 1st District in play for Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections,” Flynn writes. However, she notes that Harris is still considered the favorite according to many political analysts.

The new congressional map already faces two legal challenges, but the U.S. Supreme Court has been reluctant to interfere with partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts.

Drawn Out of 1st District, Harden Mulling a Move to the Eastern Shore

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Maryland’s 1st Congressional District underwent a vast transformation in the most recent round of redistricting: It once extended through northern Harford County into parts of Carroll and Baltimore counties, it now includes a southern section of Harford as its northern terminus and extends across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to include parts of Anne Arundel County.

That means the district will be significantly more competitive in 2022. It also means that some running for that congressional seat have been drawn out of the district, including incumbent U.S. Rep. Andrew P. Harris, the state’s lone congressional Republican who lives in Cockeysville, which is now split between the 2nd and 7th congressional districts.

The U.S. Constitution requires representatives to live in the state they represent, but not the same district.

R. David Harden, one of three Democratic contenders vying for a chance to unseat Harris in 2022, said he’s looking to move anyway. Harden’s current home is near Westminster in Carroll County. The previous map put Harden, a foreign policy strategist, in the 1st District, but the new one puts him in the 8th District. He said in an interview that he’s “actively looking for a place on the Eastern Shore.”

But he said that he wants to see whether litigation might shake up the newly drawn district lines before making a move. Fair Maps Maryland, an anti-gerrymandering group with ties to Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R), vowed legal action against the General Assembly’s congressional map just moments after it passed the state Senate during last week’s special session.

“The uncertainty of that, though, is weighed against the fact that this district is perfect for me,” Harden said.

Harden sees opportunity in the newly drawn 1st District. The district was redrawn in 2012 to be heavily conservative, allowing for a Democratic-leaning 6th District in Western Maryland, and Harris handily won reelection. But the new lines have put the 1st District into toss-up territory, and Harden hopes that he’ll be able to capture votes from both Republicans and Democrats by positioning himself as a moderate.

The congressional map adopted by the General Assembly. Screenshot.

Harden expects to face Heather R. Mizeur in the Democratic primary next year. Mizeur, formerly a state delegate from Montgomery County, now lives in Chestertown on the Eastern Shore. She has already broken early fundraising records in the 1st District. Jennifer Pingley (D), a registered nurse who lives in Cecil County, also is vying for a chance to unseat Harris.

The new 1st District includes more than 200,000 residents of central Anne Arundel County. Harden hopes that area’s proximity to military bases and government contracting firms will allow him to flex his foreign service experience and appeal to voters there.

“They’re moderate folks,” Harden said. “They care about education, they care about economic opportunity, they care about crime, security and stability.”

Harden hopes to use his rural upbringing and ancestral ties to the several parts of the district to appeal to voters. He said both of his parents trace their family history back to the Eastern Shore, and that his father’s side of the family later moved to Anne Arundel County near the Severn River.

Harden noted that Democrats have struggled to win rural districts in recent years. 2022 is showing signs that it could be a particularly tough year for Democrats in rural areas after Republican Glenn Youngkin swept rural counties in Virginia during that state’s November gubernatorial election.

“Whatever the Democrats have been doing in rural America, the Democratic strategy for rural America has failed,” Harden said. “We need to be competitive in rural counties. And that means that we have to understand the hopes and aspirations, the challenges and the grievances of rural counties.”

Mizeur is a prominent progressive who had garnered a significant backing before the district was redrawn — and she has been endorsed by Wayne Gilchrest, a moderate Republican and longtime 1st District representative.

And Mizeur’s farming background isn’t anything to write off, either: She grew up in Blue Mound, a village in rural Macon County, Illinois, and now lives on an organic farm in Chestertown. According to her campaign, her family has been farming for seven generations.

“Winning – and representing the people here – requires an ability to build coalitions, work with people across the political spectrum, and solve problems with pragmatic solutions,” Mizeur said in a statement. “That has been my calling card for years, and it’s the reason my campaign has garnered support from a wide range of leaders – from former Republican Congressman Wayne Gilchrest to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, or from local leaders like Salisbury Mayor Jake Day to former Queen Anne’s County Republican Commissioner David Dunmyer, just to name a few.”

Harden said he thinks the Democratic challenger to Harris in 2022 will need to garner votes from “centrist Democrats, independents and Hogan Republicans” to have a realistic chance of winning.

Appealing to rural voters, including watermen and farmers, is set to be a key aspect of both Harden’s and Mizeur’s campaigns. Mizeur recently rolled out a “Farmers for Mizeur” group and outlined a plan to include farmers in the fight against climate change. Harden has said the Eastern Shore and the Chesapeake Bay should be a proving ground for technologies that, likewise, will combat climate change.

The 2022 primary election will be held on June 28, 2022. Learn how to register to vote here.

By Bennett Leckrone

Marylanders Urge Redistricting Commission To Draw More Competitive 1st Congressional District

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Marylanders said the state’s solidly Republican 1st Congressional District should be redrawn to be more competitive at a Monday evening Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission hearing, citing U.S. Rep. Andrew P. Harris’ vote earlier this year against certifying the 2020 presidential election results.

Harris, the state’s lone Republican in Congress, was among a majority of U.S. House Republicans who objected to certifying the 2020 presidential election results after the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. People who testified at Monday’s meeting cited that vote, alongside Harris’ vote against awarding Congressional Gold Medals to police officers who protected the Capitol that day, as reasons to draw a more competitive 1st District.

The Legislative Redistricting Advisory Commission (LRAC) released four “concept” congressional maps last week. While two of those maps would likely maintain Democrats’ current 7-1 advantage in the state, two would combine the Eastern Shore with portions of Anne Arundel County to create a more competitive 1st District.

“The existing congressional map has empowered an extremist to represent us with little fear of retribution for any of his actions or comments,” Queen Anne’s County resident Peter Behringer said at a statewide virtual LRAC hearing Monday.

Behringer said lawmakers should draw up a 1st District that is “competitive and balanced” and empowers people of color.

Those who testified overwhelmingly supported Plan 3, boundaries proposed by the commission that include a large portion of Anne Arundel County with the Eastern Shore and is the closest to an 8-0 Democratic map. That plan would include a 1st District that would favor Democrats 55%-45%, according to an analysis by the Princeton Gerrymandering Project.

Plan 2, which includes a smaller portion of Anne Arundel County with the Eastern Shore, would favor Democrats 51% to 49%, according to the analysts at Princeton. The Princeton Gerrymandering Project gave all four maps a failing grade after researchers rated them based on “partisan fairness,” “competitiveness” and “geographic features.”

Harris has handily won re-election bids in the 1st District since he ousted Democratic Rep. Frank Kratovil by a wide margin in the 2010 election, and garnered 63.4% of the vote against challenger Mia Mason’s 36.4% in the 2020 election. His current Democratic challengers include former state Del. Heather R. Mizeur and foreign policy strategist R. David Harden.

The 1st District currently includes the entire Eastern Shore before looping north to include parts of Harford, Baltimore and Carroll counties.

“He can lean extremely far to the right since the current map stacks Republicans together in District 1,” Felicia Martin, a Harford County resident, said. “Districts should be drawn so that representatives can contemplate a spectrum of issues and be willing to work with both parties.”

Judy Wixted, an Eastern Shore resident, said Plan 3 is “somewhat acceptable,” but added that she doesn’t think the plan goes far enough to challenge Harris.

“This district, as it was drawn ten years ago, packed MD-1 in such a way that only the most radical Republican could win a primary,” she said.

Mason likewise urged lawmakers to draw a more competitive 1st District at the meeting, and also noted the vast geographic size of the district as it’s currently drawn, comparing it to “two Delawares.”

Some who testified at the meeting said it makes sense to combine the Eastern Shore with Anne Arundel County, since the regions are connected by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Marnette Finn, an Anne Arundel County resident, said the Eastern Shore is linked “culturally and economically” with Anne Arundel County because of the bridge. She said it makes more sense to connect the Eastern Shore with the rest of Maryland at the bridge rather than by going north through Harford County.

“Both regions have the same economic and environmental interest in protecting the Bay,” Finn said.

Paul Berman noted that Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) has said he wants the planned third span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to be built at the current site.

“Governor Hogan’s insistence on expanding the connection between the Eastern Shore and Anne Arundel County offers clear confirmation of this commission’s [Plan 3]. Linking the Eastern Shore with Annapolis and a large portion of Anne Arundel County would provide the best configuration for Maryland’s 1st Congressional District,” Berman said.

The congressional map proposed by Hogan’s Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission (MCRC) keeps the Eastern Shore linked with parts of northern Maryland. That map received high marks from the Princeton Gerrymandering Project for partisan fairness, and Hogan has said he will oppose any maps from the General Assembly that differ from the MCRC’s proposal.

While Hogan could veto congressional maps, Democrats hold a veto-proof majority in both the House of Delegates and the State Senate and have complete control over the redistricting process in Maryland. Lawmakers are set to tackle congressional redistricting at a special session beginning Dec. 6.

Maryland’s current congressional district map was challenged as an illegal partisan gerrymander in federal court and considered by the Supreme Court twice, with justices ultimately decided not to set a standard for what constitutes extreme gerrymandering.

By Bennett Leckrone

Politico: Md. Dems Eyeing State’s Only Republican Congressman in Redistricting

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Democratic leaders in Maryland are considering a congressional redistricting that could result in eight Democrats representing the state in Congress, Politico reported Nov. 9.

The state’s current congressional delegation has seven Democrats and one Republican, First District Rep. Andy Harris. Prior to the 2010 redistricting, there were two Republicans representing Maryland, one in western Maryland and one in the First District, which includes the Eastern Shore.

The Maryland General Assembly, with solid Democratic majorities, will have the final say on the districts for Congress, Maryland Senate, and Maryland House of Delegates.

The legislature’s redistricting advisory commission has additional public hearings scheduled through mid-November, but is expected to release a draft congressional map this week, according to Politico.

A citizens redistricting commission appointed by Gov. Larry Hogan has completed its work and proposed a congressional map with six Democratic districts and two Republican districts.

The General Assembly will begin meeting Dec. 6 in a special session to map the congressional districts.

Post Report: Harris Says He Prescribed Ivermectin for COVID-19

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Rep. Andy Harris, a practicing anesthesiologist who represents the Eastern Shore in Congress, said he has prescribed ivermectin for treatment of COVID-19, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.

Ivermectin is used to treat parasites, with different products for humans and livestock, and the FDA, American Medical Association and national pharmacy groups warn against using it for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19.

Harris, who made the comments on a Sept. 17 radio show, also said pharmacies would not fill the prescription, the Post reported.

Harris works part-time with a physician group that provides anesthesia and other medical services to the University of Maryland Shore Medical Center in Easton.

 

Mia Mason Withdraws, Endorses Heather Mizeur In 1st District Race

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Mia Mason, the veteran who challenged Rep. Andrew P. Harris (R) in 2020, endorsed former Del. Heather R. Mizeur (D) to take on Maryland’s lone congressional Republican Tuesday.

Mason secured the Democratic nomination to take on Harris in 2020 and had planned to run against him again in 2022, but recently dropped out of the race to focus on her family.

R. David Harden, a foreign policy strategist, is also seeking the Democratic nomination in the district.

Mia Mason

Mason threw her support behind Mizeur in a Tuesday Inside Out LGBT Radio interview, according to a press release.

“I have had a chance to witness Heather Mizeur up close and behind the scenes,” Mason said. “While we were competitors in this primary, she always shared my values of friendship and collaboration together, staying focused on our common goal of defeating Andy Harris and showing me and my wife extraordinary kindness and encouragement.”

Mason, a U.S. Army veteran, secured the Democratic nomination and ran against Harris last year, taking 36.4% of the vote against Maryland’s lone congressional Republican in the Nov. 3, 2020 election. Mizeur praised Mason as a “pillar of grit, determination, courage, and selfless sacrifice” in a Tuesday release.

Mason joins a slew of high-profile Maryland politicians in endorsing Mizeur, including U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D), U.S. Reps. Jamie B. Raskin (D) and Anthony G. Brown (D), State Treasurer Nancy Kopp (D), Baltimore County Executive John A. Olszewski Jr. (D), and former 1st District Congressman Wayne Gilchrest (R).

So far, Mizeur has outpaced Harris in fundraising. In the second quarter of 2021, she raised $357,000 — nearly double Harris’ $185,795, according to Federal Election Commission data. She has raised $717,445 since entering the race in January compared to the $425,122 Harris has raised in this cycle.

Mizeur reported $560,533.31 cash on hand as of June 30. Harris, who is seeking his seventh term in the House of Representatives, had more than $1.29 million cash on hand as of June 30.

Mizeur’s campaign said in a release last week that 87% of her donations from the second quarter of 2021 were from individuals who gave $100 or less. Harris has used Mizeur’s high fundraising figures in his own campaign materials. He called Mizeur a “prolific fundraiser” in a campaign letter after her strong first quarter tally.

By Bennett Leckrone