Katherine Harris Lack of Republican support
Why does Harris not have the Republican support?
Why does Harris not have the Republican support?
The Pensacola News Journal suggested that Harris might withdraw from the Senate race after winning a primary victory, thereby allowing the Republicans to nominate another candidate, such as Tom Gallagher, to run against Bill Nelson (politician). In August, Katherine Harris touted political endorsements from fellow Republican lawmakers on her campaign web site. However, some of those cited claim that they never endorsed her. This conflict resulted in several Republican congressmen calling the Harris campaign to complain after the St. Petersburg Times notified them of the endorsements listed on Harris's Web site. A short time later, their names were removed without comment from Harris's Web site. Of Harris's three primary opponents, only Will McBride endorsed her candidacy for the general election. In the first few days after the primary, a number of Republican nominees such as Charlie Crist and Tom Lee went on a statewide unity tour with Gov. Bush. Harris was not invited; Republicans said the tour was only for nominees to statewide offices. Harris claimed Bush would campaign with her sometime in the two months before the election, but the governor's office denied this. President Bush did not make public appearances or private meetings with Harris before the primary. He did, however, appear with her at a fundraiser on September 21 in Tampa. When it came time for newspapers to make their op-ed endorsements, all 22 of Florida's major daily newspapers supported Senator Nelson. The only endorsement Harris received was from the Polk County Democrat, a newspaper in Bartow which publishes four days out of the week. CANNOTANSWER
August, Katherine Harris touted political endorsements from fellow Republican lawmakers on her campaign web site. However, some of those cited claim that they never endorsed her.
Katherine Harris (born April 5, 1957) is an American former politician. A Republican, Harris served in the Florida Senate from 1994 to 1998, as Secretary of State of Florida from 1999 to 2002, and as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Florida's 13th congressional district from 2003 to 2007. Harris lost her campaign in 2006 for a United States Senate seat from Florida.

In the 2000 presidential election, she received national attention for her role as the Florida's secretary of state during the state's election recount, certifying George W. Bush's narrow victory (537 votes) over Al Gore and awarding him the Florida electors, which gained him the national election.

Background and personal life
Harris was born in Key West, Florida, to one of the state's wealthiest and most politically influential families. She is the daughter of Harriett (Griffin) and George W. Harris Jr., who owned Citrus and Chemical Bank in Lakeland, Florida. Her maternal grandfather was Ben Hill Griffin Jr., a successful businessman in the citrus and cattle industries and a powerful figure in the state legislature. Shortly before his death in 1990, he was ranked as the 261st richest American on the Forbes 400 list. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at the University of Florida is named for him.

Harris' extended family has been active in Christian evangelism. Her grandfather was a Christian missionary in Africa, while her aunt and uncle were missionaries in India. They now head the Arab World Missions. Harris studied under Dr. Francis Schaeffer at a L'Abri Fellowship International center. Harris attended Greystone, an all-girls Christian camp at Asheville, North Carolina.  She has said her faith is "the most important thing in my life." Harris has criticized the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for being too liberal; she was reared in the more conservative Presbyterian Church in America. She attends Calvary Chapel, a non-denominational charismatic church in Sarasota, Florida.

Harris married Swedish businessman Sven Anders Axel Ebbeson in 1996 and has one stepdaughter, Louise. Sven Ebbeson committed suicide in November 2013 at their home in Sarasota; he had reportedly been suffering a serious illness. In 2017, after admitting she'd become "a near recluse" since Ebbeson's death, she married Texas banker Richard Ware.

Education and career
Harris graduated from Bartow High School in Bartow, Florida, in 1975. She attended the University of Madrid in 1978. Harris received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, in 1979. She studied under Christian theologian Francis Schaeffer at the L'Abri community in Huemoz, Switzerland, near Lausanne. While in college she worked as an intern for U.S. Representative Andy Ireland.

Before entering politics, Harris worked as a marketing executive at IBM and a vice president of a commercial real estate firm.

Harris earned a M.P.A. from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1996.

Political career
Harris ran for the Florida Senate as a Republican in 1994 in one of the most expensive state races in Florida history to that time. Harris's political career was guided by Dan Berger, Adam Goodman, and Benjamin McKay, along with her campaign manager, David Lapides.

Florida Senate and Riscorp
Harris played a prominent role in introducing William Griffin (with whom she had a close personal relationship), the CEO of Riscorp, to various Florida legislators. In the 1994 state senate election, Sarasota-based Riscorp, Inc. made illegal contributions totaling $400,000 to dozens of political candidates and committees, including $20,600 to the Harris campaign.

Two years later, in 1996, Harris sponsored a bill "to block Riscorp competitors from getting a greater share of Florida workers' compensation market, [and] also pushed a proposal that would hurt a particular competitor." This issue later emerged during her campaign for Florida Secretary of State in 1998.

William Griffin eventually pleaded guilty to illegal campaign donations, among allegations of other serious wrongdoing at Riscorp, and served prison time in 1998. The election of Republican Jeb Bush as governor of Florida is considered to have been a major factor in stopping further state investigation into the Riscorp scandal. According to a Sun-Herald column from June 2005, "Harris denied any knowledge of the scheme, was never charged with any crime and was cleared of wrongdoing by a state investigator."

Secretary of State
Harris was elected Florida Secretary of State in 1998. She defeated then-incumbent Sandra Mortham in the Republican primary and won the general election against Democratic candidate, Karen Gievers, an attorney from Miami. A state constitutional change passed in the same year making the Secretary of State an appointed office made Harris the last person to be elected Secretary of State in Florida.

Harris abruptly resigned in August 2002 while campaigning for Congress when it was discovered that she had violated Florida's "resign to run", which stated "...No officer may qualify as a candidate for another public office, whether state, district, county or municipal, if the terms or any part thereof run concurrently with each other, without resigning from the office he or she presently holds." Since the start of her Congressional term (January 3, 2003) would overlap with the end of her term as Secretary of State (January 7, 2003), she was required to submit a letter of recognition. The law allowed candidates to have the resignation be effective up until the term for the new office began. Since Harris failed to do so, she was required to resign immediately. Harris said the oversight was unintentional. She said that she thought because Florida voters had approved a constitutional amendment that made the position of Secretary of State an appointed office rather than an elected office, the law did not apply to her situation.

International travel
During her first 22 months in office, Harris spent more than $106,000 for travel, more than the governor or any other cabinet officer. She visited eight countries on ten foreign trips.

In early 2001, Florida Senate leaders eliminated the $3.4 million that Harris had budgeted for international relations for the year, assigning it instead to Enterprise Florida, the state's economic development agency. However, Florida House Leader Tom Feeney said that he disagreed with the Senate and believed that Harris was an able advocate to foreign countries. After the House refused to agree with the proposed budget action, the Senate agreed to restore the money; however, it insisted on a review committee, appointed by Senate President John McKay, Feeney, and Governor Jeb Bush, to evaluate all of Harris' expenditures on international affairs since July 1, 1999, and produce a report.

2000 U.S. presidential election

As Secretary of State for the State of Florida (and co-chair of George W. Bush's election efforts in Florida), Harris was a central figure in the 2000 US presidential election in Florida. She was involved in purging many individuals from the voter rolls , and the election between Al Gore and George W. Bush was so close in Florida, separated by 537 votes, that a recount of the votes was called for.

After several recounts were inconclusive , Harris halted the recounting process, arguing that the laws governing recounts were unclear. The official vote totals showed the Republican candidate, Texas Governor George W. Bush, as the winner of the statewide popular vote in Florida, and so Harris certified the Republican slate of electors. This victory in Florida would allow Bush to obtain a majority in the Electoral College and win the election. Her certification was upheld in the state circuit court, but subsequently overturned on appeal by the Florida Supreme Court.

The Florida Supreme Court decision was reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore (2000). In a per curiam decision, by a 7–2 vote, the Court held that the Florida Supreme Court's method for recounting ballots was a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Furthermore, it held, by a 5–4 vote, that no alternative method for a recount could be established within the time limits set by the State of Florida.

This decision allowed Harris' previous certification of Bush as the winner of Florida's electoral votes to stand. Florida's 25 electoral votes gave Bush, the Republican candidate, 271 electoral votes, thus defeating Gore, who ended up with 266 electoral votes (with one D.C. elector abstaining).

Harris later published Center of the Storm, her memoir of the 2000 election controversy. It was later revealed that, unimpressed with her performance in the media spotlight of the recount, the Bush Campaign had assigned a staff member to her, essentially as a handler.

United States Congresswoman
In 2002, Harris ran against Sarasota Attorney Jan Schneider for the congressional district vacated by retiring Republican Rep. Dan Miller, winning by 10 percentage points in this solidly Republican district, a victory helped with one of the biggest first term campaign fund raising efforts in the history of this district and substantial support from the Bush family.

Harris considered running for the seat of retiring Senator Bob Graham in 2004 but was reportedly dissuaded by the Bush White House to allow Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Mel Martinez to run instead. Martinez went on to narrowly beat challenger Betty Castor. Harris ran for re-election to her House seat in 2004; she was re-elected with a margin almost identical to her first win.

In a 2004 speech in Venice, Florida, Harris claimed that a "Middle Eastern" man was arrested for attempting to blow up the power grid in Carmel, Indiana; Carmel Mayor James Brainard and a spokesman for Indiana Gov. Joe Kernan said they had no knowledge of such a plot. Brainard said he had never spoken to Harris.

During a 2004 campaign stop in Sarasota, a local resident, Barry Seltzer, "tr[ied] to 'intimidate' a group of Harris supporters" by menacing Harris and her supporters with his automobile. Witnesses described Seltzer as having swerved off the road and onto the sidewalk, directing it at Harris and her supporters. Nobody was injured in the incident. Seltzer, who claimed he was "exercising [his] political expression," was eventually arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

MZM incident
In 2005 and 2006, a major corporate campaign donor to Harris, Mitchell Wade (founder of defense contractor MZM), was implicated in several bribery scandals. Wade had bundled together and donated to Harris's campaign $32,000 in contributions from his employees at MZM, Inc., then reimbursed those employees for the contributions. Regarding this issue, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Wainstein said that Harris did not appear to know the donations were obtained illegally. Harris has maintained she had no personal knowledge that her campaign was given illegal contributions. Wade acknowledged that the donations to the Harris campaign were illegal and were part of an attempt to influence Harris to MZM's benefit.

Documents filed with Wade's plea say that he took Harris to dinner in March 2005, a year after the illegal contributions, where they discussed the possibility of another fundraiser and the possibility of getting funding for a Navy counterintelligence program placed in Harris's district. Harris sent a letter on April 26, 2005, to defense appropriations subcommittee Chairman C. W. Bill Young, in which Harris sought $10 million for a Navy project backed by Wade. In the letter, Harris emphasized the importance of the project, asking that it be added to her list of five priorities and identifying it as her new No. 3. Harris later released the April 26, 2005, letter for legal scrutiny, but neither she nor Young would turn over the request form (RFP) used for the proposal.

CQPolitics noted "Harris's former political strategist, Ed Rollins, spoke on the record about the dinner and detailed a meal that cost $2,800, far in excess of the $50 limit on gifts that members of Congress are allowed to accept" at the Washington restaurant Citronelle. Wade and Harris discussed MZM's desire for a $10 million appropriation, and Wade offered to host a fundraiser for Harris's 2006 Senate campaign. Regarding the MZM contributions, the Sentinel article goes on to say "The Justice Department has said Wade, who personally handed many of the checks to Harris, did not tell Harris the contributions were illegal". Regarding the expensive meal, the article quotes Harris as saying that she personally had only a "beverage and appetizer" worth less than "$100".

Rollins said that he had conducted a thorough internal investigation into Harris's ties to MZM in hopes of finding conclusive proof of her innocence; but when he could not, he and other advisers, including her lawyer, urged her to drop her candidacy rather than risk federal corruption charges. Although he did not believe Harris intentionally broke any laws, "her story kept changing. Our great concern was that you get into trouble when you don't tell the same story twice ... Maybe you don't think you did anything wrong, but then maybe you start getting questioned about it and so forth, and you may perjure yourself. ... Unlike Cunningham, I don't think she set out to violate the law, but I think she was very careless. She heard whatever she wanted to hear, but we could find no evidence whatsoever that this was a project going into her district."

Although Rollins recalled discussing the $2,800 meal with Harris, Harris told the Orlando Sentinel on April 19, 2006, that the cost of the meal was "news to me", and that her campaign had since "reimbursed" the restaurant for the cost of the meal. According to the reporter, when questioned as to why she would reimburse the restaurant for a meal that had been paid for by MZM, Harris abruptly terminated the interview, and her spokesman later called and requested unsuccessfully that the story not be printed. The next day, Harris's campaign issued a statement that she had believed her campaign had reimbursed the restaurant, and that she had donated $100 "which will more than adequately compensate for the cost of my beverage and appetizer". Harris also asserted that most of the cost of the meal was from Wade ordering several unopened bottles of wine to take home, although the management of the restaurant denies ever allowing anyone to take unopened bottles of wine off the premises, saying "Why would we jeopardize our liquor license for the sake of selling a couple bottles of wine?"

In the weeks following the expensive meal, former senior Harris staffers claimed that "they initially rejected a defense contractor's $10 million appropriation request last year but reversed course after being instructed by Harris to approve it." In May 2006, Harris's campaign spokesman Christopher Ingram acknowledged that she had also had a previous dinner with Wade in the same restaurant in March 2004, when the $32,000 in illegal donations had been given to her campaign. Ingram told the press that he did not know how much that meal cost, but that a charitable donation of an unknown amount had been given to a charity whose name he did not know, equivalent to her share of the meal. "She takes responsibility for the oversight that there was no reimbursement," he said.

Mona Tate Yost, an aide to Harris, left to work for MZM during the time Wade was pressing Harris to secure federal funding (April or May 2005). On July 17, 2006, Ed Rollins confirmed that Justice Department lawyers and FBI agents had recently questioned her about the $32,000 in donations. Rollins noted: "I assume more [interviews] will be coming, though. They were very serious." On September 7, 2006, Federal investigators questioned Jim Dornan, who quit as Harris's campaign manager the previous November.

2006 Senate race

Overview
On June 7, 2005, with support from her new campaign advisors of Ed Rollins and Jim Dornan, Harris announced her candidacy for the 2006 Florida United States Senate election, challenging Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson. Both lackluster fundraising relative to Nelson and controversy over campaign contributions from MZM caused Harris to fall far behind in all polls by May 2006.
Late in the primary race, Republican contender Will McBride polled 31 points behind Nelson in a hypothetical election against him, while Harris polled 33 points behind Nelson in the same poll. Harris was still popular among Republican voters and won the September 5 primary over McBride and two other challengers with approximately 50% of the total vote.

Despite Harris's support of many Republican causes and her previous statewide victories, some party leaders expressed doubt about her statewide appeal:

 In May 2006, Florida Governor Jeb Bush questioned Harris's ability to win the general election and encouraged others to challenge her in the primary.
 Karl Rove expressed doubts about her statewide appeal.
 National Republicans openly criticized her campaign and tried to convince other GOP candidates to challenge Harris in the primary.
 Florida state House of Representatives Speaker Allan Bense declined the candidacy on May 11 despite public courting by many leaders including Governor Bush.
 Conservative pundit and former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough was also unsuccessfully recruited to enter the race. Departing Harris aides claim that Harris called potential Scarborough supporters and raised the death of an aide in order to prevent his entry into the race. Scarborough later told Nelson that drawing Harris as an opponent in the race made him "the luckiest man in Washington".

By late July 2006, Harris had gone through three campaign managers and her campaign was floundering. At that time, it was disclosed that state Republican Party leaders had told Harris they would not support her because she could not win in the general election.

Financial problems plagued Harris' Senate campaign from the start. During the primary, it was clear that the incumbent Senator Nelson had a substantial financial advantage.

On the March 15, 2006, edition of Fox News Channel's Hannity & Colmes, Harris pledged to spend $10 million of her own money, which she said was all of her inheritance, on her campaign. She also stated that her run was dedicated to the memory of her father.

Despite her promise, the $10 million never materialized. Reports surfaced that Harris would not actually receive the inheritance from her father, who instead left his entire estate to her mother. She donated $3 million to her campaign, but later took back $100,000, fueling speculation that she would be unable to donate the promised amount.

In October, Harris announced that she was trying to sell her house in Washington to raise money for her campaign, but the home was not publicly listed for sale and no sale was ever announced.

Nelson defeated Harris by more than one million votes. Harris received less than 39% of the vote.

Staff resignations
In late February 2006, in the midst of revelations surrounding Mitchell Wade's illegal contributions, Harris's campaign finance director and her campaign treasurer both resigned. On April 1, 2006, Harris's top campaign advisor, pollster and campaign manager all resigned with a half-dozen other staffers. Republican pollster and consultant David Johnson said, "I've never seen staffers go like this. It's just imploding."

In early April 2006, Harris told the Tampa Tribune that some of her ex-campaign staffers and the national Republican party were deliberately sabotaging her campaign by "putting knives in her back" and had warned her that if she did not back out of the campaign, she would get an "April surprise". Former campaign staffer Ed Rollins said "They were all good professionals ... There was no backstabbing. It's insulting that she would even say that. If she wants to know what went wrong with the campaign, maybe she needs to take a good look in the mirror."

In June, the Harris campaign received a legal bill for thousands of dollars that contained a reference to "DOJ subpoena". Later, an ex-aide told the Associated Press that Harris had received a grand jury subpoena from federal investigators, but kept it from her top advisers, prompting several staff members to quit when they found out. On June 8, 2006, Harris's fourth chief of staff, Fred Asbell, left in order to pursue a "business opportunity". Asbell said he'd "greatly enjoyed" his time with the campaign and he would remain in a consultant position. On July 12, 2006, Harris's campaign spokesman Chris Christopher Ingram left the campaign. The next day, Harris received resignations from Campaign Manager Glenn Hodas, Field Director Pat Thomas, Political Director Brian Brooks and Deputy Field Director John K. Byers, while Travel Aide Kyle Johnson and Field Director Mike Norris declined to leave, citing loyalty to Harris. Hodas cited Harris's "tantrums" and "increasingly erratic behavior" as his reasons for leaving. An anonymous campaign worker described Harris as "very difficult to work with. The more that we put her out there, the more she shot herself in the foot."

In late August, Harris lost another key staffer, Rhyan Metzler, in the wake of a disastrous political rally at Orlando Executive Airport. Only 40 people showed up for the event, and Harris blamed the paltry turnout in part on a last-minute change in location. She claimed that a tree fell on the hangar that was originally scheduled to hold the rally, forcing her campaign to switch to another hangar. Airport officials, however, stated that not only had no trees fallen, but also that there are no trees as they get in the way of the airplanes; further adding that the event in fact took place in the hangar that Harris's campaign had originally booked. Harris's campaign blamed Metzler for the comments Harris made after the rally. On August 31, 2006, Harris was interviewed on Hardball with Chris Matthews, where she responded to the criticisms from her former staffers with "We have their email traffic, we know what was behind all that, we know who's been paid and who isn't."

Lack of Republican support
The Pensacola News Journal suggested that Harris might withdraw from the Senate race after winning a primary victory, thereby allowing the Republicans to nominate another candidate, such as Tom Gallagher, to run against Bill Nelson.

In August, Katherine Harris touted political endorsements from fellow Republican lawmakers on her campaign web site. However, some of those cited claim that they never endorsed her. This conflict resulted in several Republican congressmen calling the Harris campaign to complain after the St. Petersburg Times notified them of the endorsements listed on Harris's Web site. A short time later, their names were removed without comment from Harris's Web site.

Of Harris's three primary opponents, only Will McBride endorsed her candidacy for the general election. In the first few days after the primary, a number of Republican nominees such as Charlie Crist and Tom Lee went on a statewide unity tour with Gov. Bush. Harris was not invited; Republicans said the tour was only for nominees to statewide offices. Harris claimed Bush would campaign with her sometime in the two months before the election, but the governor's office denied this.

President Bush did not make public appearances or private meetings with Harris before the primary. He did, however, appear with her at a fundraiser on September 21 in Tampa.

When it came time for newspapers to make their op-ed endorsements, all 22 of Florida's major daily newspapers supported Senator Nelson. The only endorsement Harris received was from the Polk County Democrat, a newspaper in Bartow which publishes four days out of the week.

Religious convictions
Harris was a headline speaker at the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church's "Reclaiming America for Christ" conference held in Ft. Lauderdale on March 17–18, 2006. The conference web site invited attendees to attend in order to "reclaim this nation for Christ." The stated mission of ReclaimAmerica.org is "To inform, equip, motivate, and support Christians; enabling them to defend and implement the Biblical principles on which our country was founded." As part of her speech, Harris urged conferees to "win back America for God." Her appearance was noted in a Rolling Stone article covering the conference.

In an interview with the Florida Baptist Witness on August 24, 2006, Harris called for Christians to vote on religious lines. She said,

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) said she was "disgusted" by the comments "and deeply disappointed in Representative Harris personally," adding "clearly shows that she does not deserve to be a representative." Two of Harris' primary opponents denounced her statements, Republican Will McBride (an attorney and son of a pastor) stated "I'm a Christian, and I'm a Republican, and I don't share her views. There are people of other faiths and backgrounds of outstanding integrity who know how to tell the truth." Real estate developer Peter Monroe, another GOP primary opponent, called on her to quit the race and resign from Congress. He called her suggestion that non-Christian voters are ignorant of morality when voting as "contemptible, arrogant and wicked."

On August 26, 2006, Harris's campaign released a "Statement of Clarification", that stated, "In the interview, Harris was speaking to a Christian audience, addressing a common misperception that people of faith should not be actively involved in government. Addressing this Christian publication, Harris provided a statement that explains her deep grounding in Judeo-Christian values." The press release went on to mention her past support of Israel and quoted her Jewish campaign manager Bryan G. Rudnick, who stated "As the grandson of Holocaust survivors, I know that she encourages people of all faiths to engage in government so that our country can continue to thrive on the principles set forth by our founding fathers, without malice towards anyone." At an appearance at an Orlando gun show that same day, she said "it breaks my heart" to think people understood her comments as bigoted. When asked if she thought the Founding Fathers intended the nation to have secular laws she replied,

On October 3, 2006, Harris participated in a prayer service via phone call. In one instance, she called for the elimination of the separation of church and state when she said,

Harris then went on and prayed for Jews to be converted to Christianity.

Replacements in the 13th Congressional District
Vern Buchanan was the Republican nominee and Christine Jennings the Democratic nominee to replace Harris in the 2006 election. The race had been ranked as "leaning Democratic" by CQ Politics, but Buchanan scored a very narrow victory, winning the election by a few hundred votes.

Political positions and voting record
Harris is a conservative on most issues. She is anti-abortion and has voted against embryonic stem cell research. She opposes oil-drilling in Florida's coastal waters. Harris supported reforming Social Security to include private accounts. She has voted in favor of granting legal status to fetuses via the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. She supports tax cuts and the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, which restricts bankruptcy filings by consumers. Harris is also in favor of welfare reform, school vouchers, the Patriot Act, the Flag Desecration Amendment, the Federal Marriage Amendment, and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In a televised debate with Nelson on November 1, however, she repeatedly declined to say whether she would still support the Iraq War Resolution knowing that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction. In an earlier debate with Nelson, Harris was asked to comment on trade of arms with foreign nations and the potential threat of their acquisition by terrorist groups.  Harris responded that "we know we don't want to have arms going to the rogue nations like China."

In popular culture
Katherine Harris was the subject of some skits on Saturday Night Live, in which she was played by Ana Gasteyer; she was also portrayed by actress Laura Dern in the 2008 film Recount, for which Dern won a Golden Globe.She is mentioned in Family guy Season 5 Episode16 'No chris left behind'.  Harris is also referenced in one of filmmaker Kevin Smith's monologues for the DVD An Evening with Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder. Harris was also satirically portrayed by comedian Janeane Garofalo as "Senator Katherine Harris" on the Internet talk radio and podcast show The Majority Report with Sam Seder.

See also
 Florida election recount
 Women in the United States House of Representatives

References

External links

 Profile piece at Washington Post
 

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1957 births
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians
2000 United States presidential election in Florida
Agnes Scott College people
Bartow High School alumni
Candidates in the 2006 United States elections
Christians from Florida
Conservatism in the United States
Female members of the United States House of Representatives
Florida Republicans
Harvard Kennedy School alumni
IBM employees
Living people
Members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida
People associated with the 2000 United States presidential election
People from Key West, Florida
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives
Secretaries of State of Florida
Women in Florida politics
Mark Harris (born April 24, 1966) is an American pastor and politician from North Carolina. He ran as a Republican to represent  in the United States House of Representatives in the 2016 and 2018 elections. In 2016, he was defeated in a Republican primary by incumbent Robert Pittenger. Harris ran for Congress again in 2018, and this time he defeated Pittenger in the Republican primary.

In the general election against Democratic opponent Dan McCready, initial tallies showed Harris winning the election; however, an election panel refused to certify these results after investigating reports of ballot fraud involving McCrae Dowless, a Republican political operative employed by the Harris campaign. Dowless was later criminally charged in connection with the alleged fraud, but Harris was not. In February 2019, the bipartisan North Carolina Board of Elections dismissed the results of the election and called for a new election to be held. Harris was not a candidate in the new election.

Early life 
Harris was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on April 24, 1966. He attended local schools there before earning his bachelor's degree in political science from Appalachian State University. He earned both a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) and Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Ministry career
Harris is the lead pastor at Trinity Baptist Church in Mooresville, North Carolina. He has served as the senior pastor of the First Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, and as president of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. He served as senior of Augusta, Georgia's Curtis Baptist Church from January 1, 2000 to July 2005.

Political career
Harris ran for the United States Senate in the 2014 election, finishing in third place in the Republican primary behind Thom Tillis and Greg Brannon. He later ran against incumbent congressman Robert Pittenger for the U.S. House in 2016. The election was close; after a recount, Pittenger was certified the winner by 134 votes.

2018 congressional campaign
Harris resigned from the First Baptist Church in 2017 and ran again for the U.S. House in 2018. This time, Harris defeated Pittenger in the Republican primary (which featured a higher turnout than the 2016 primary).  

After the November 6, 2018 general election, Harris was 905 votes ahead of his Democratic competitor, Dan McCready after county election boards certified the election; however, the North Carolina Board of Elections voted 9-0 on November 27 to delay the election to investigate fraud allegations. Following an investigation, the Board ordered that a new election be held. Harris was not a candidate in the new election.

Election fraud allegations

Following the November 6, 2018, midterm elections in North Carolina's 9th congressional district, initial tallies put Harris 905 votes ahead of his Democratic competitor, Dan McCready. McCready conceded on the day after the election, but the state Democratic Party filed affidavits with the state's board of voters claiming that Harris had used independent contractors to collect unsealed absentee ballots from voters and alter them before submitting them to the post office. The North Carolina Board of Elections voted 9-0 on November 27 not to certify the election. 

The Board of Elections subsequently opened an investigation which centered around the activities of Leslie McCrae Dowless, who had felony convictions for perjury and fraud. Dowless had been employed by numerous campaigns of Republican candidates to orchestrate "get out the vote" efforts. The accusation is that Dowless, who was hired by the Harris campaign, paid workers to illegally collect absentee ballots from voters. According to The Washington Post, Harris directed the hiring of Dowless for his campaign even though Harris received personal warnings in 2016 that Dowless had almost certainly used questionable tactics to deliver absentee votes in rural Bladen county for Todd Johnson, another losing candidate in the  District's Republican congressional 2016 primary.

While the allegations of irregularities were being investigated, Harris sought to have himself certified as the winner of the election. In January 2019, Harris filed a petition to have a court certify him as the winner of the election; Harris's petition was rejected that same month. That same month, Harris said "no evidence has been supplied that suggests the outcome of the race is in question"; The News & Observer disputed Harris's assertion, stating that it was "extremely unlikely" that Harris knew "the extent of evidence that has been submitted to the NC elections board". On February 9, 2019, Harris said that "Democrats and liberal media have spared no expense disparaging" his good name and blamed "a liberal activist" on the Board of Elections for controversy surrounding the election. He described the alleged ballot-harvesting scheme as "unsubstantiated slandering". During the investigation, the North Carolina Republican Party declared, "Mark Harris won the election", calling on the state elections board to certify Harris as the winner. The party also defended Harris, describing him as an "innocent victim".

The outcome of the election remained uncertified while state election officials investigated the alleged fraud. In early January, Republican party officials refused to send Democratic Governor Roy Cooper the names of their party's candidates to fill vacancies on the board. Responding to their actions, Cooper said, "If politicians and the people they hire are manipulating the system to steal elections, all of us should pull together to get to the bottom of it and stop it — regardless of whether the candidate who finished ahead in a tainted election is a Republican or a Democrat". 

The North Carolina State Board of Elections held hearings from February 18 to February 21, 2019 in an effort to resolve the disputed election results. During those hearings, election officials complained that the Harris campaign had withheld incriminating documents. Lisa Britt, the daughter of Dowless's ex-wife, testified that under Dowless's direction, absentee ballots had been unlawfully collected from voters. Britt added that in some cases, Dowless's associates had filled in blank ballot votes to favor Republican candidates and had falsified witness signatures. Bladen County, where Dowless had operated, was the only county in which Harris had prevailed over McCready in the absentee ballot results. Harris's son, who is a federal prosecutor, told the board that he had repeatedly warned his father about Dowless and that Dowless might be involved in illegal activities. Harris told the board that Dowless had assured him that his operation was legal.

The New York Times wrote that Harris "appeared to mislead" the board with some of his testimony. Harris later acknowledged that some of his testimony had been inaccurate, blaming his health problems as an explanation for his erroneous testimony. He then said that "It's become clear to me the public's confidence in the 9th District seat general election has been undermined to an extent that a new election is warranted." Harris's attorney David Freedman also said "we agree that the actions that occurred in Bladen County likely affected the election."

On February 21, the Board of Elections unanimously voted to order a new election in the congressional race. The Board also ordered new elections in two other contests for local offices. The North Carolina Republican Party, which up until that point had been supporting Harris's prior demand to be certified as the winner of the election, also endorsed the call for the new election. On February 26, 2019, citing ill health, Harris declared that he would not compete in the new election.

Resolution
On February 27, 2019, Dowless was arrested after being indicted by a Wake County grand jury. He was charged with multiple counts related to illegal ballot handling and obstructing justice in the 2016 and 2018 elections. An additional four people who worked for him were also charged. In July, additional charges of perjury and solicitation to commit perjury were added in a superseding indictment.

On April 7, 2020, Dowless was indicted on federal charges of Social Security fraud. In the indictment, unsealed on April 21, prosecutors alleged that Dowless claimed disability and retirement benefits in 2017 and 2018, but failed to tell the Social Security Administration about over $132,000 in payments he received for working on the Harris campaign and one other campaign in the 2018 cycle. 

On July 15, 2020, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman announced she was closing her office's investigation into Harris and Dowless after her office and multiple state and federal agencies found insufficient evidence to prosecute him.  Dowless however, was found to have committed unrelated government fraud and sentenced to six months in prison and fined.

Political positions

Education
In 2014, Harris called for abolishing the U.S. Department of Education.

Federal budget
Harris has stated that he would support a Balanced Budget Amendment and cited concern over what was at the time $19 trillion in debt and $120 trillion in unfunded liabilities.

In 2014, Harris supported reforming Social Security, including reducing the future Social Security payments for those who were currently less than 50 years old.

Religion 
Harris has described Islam as "dangerous" and the work of Satan. In 2014, he claimed that Islam was taking over the world, including the United States.

In 2011, Harris said in a sermon at First Baptist Charlotte that there would never be peace between Jews and Muslims unless they convert to Christianity.

During the 2018 campaign, American Bridge 21st Century, a Democratic super PAC that conducts opposition research, brought attention to a 2013 sermon that Harris had given where he questioned whether it was the "healthiest pursuit" for women to prioritize their careers and independence over their biblical "core calling".

Social issues 
Harris opposes the Supreme Court's ruling in Roe v. Wade which prohibits bans on abortion. He has stated that the Affordable Care Act has made healthcare more costly for businesses.

Harris led supporters of North Carolina Amendment 1, which banned same-sex marriage in North Carolina in 2012. The amendment was found to be unconstitutional by a federal court in 2014, and prohibitions on same-sex marriage were found to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court's Obergefell v. Hodges decision in 2015. After the Supreme Court ruling, Harris said, "one of the most devastating blows to the American way of life has been the breakdown of the family unit. A marriage consists of one man and one woman. The Supreme Court, in a 5–4 decision, decided otherwise."

Harris campaigned for the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act (commonly known as the "bathroom bill") in North Carolina in 2016, which stated that in government buildings, individuals (such as students at state-operated schools) may only use restrooms and changing facilities that correspond to the sex identified on their birth certificate. The bill sparked a widespread backlash and boycott, including by major U.S. firms. Amid the backlash, Harris adamantly argued against repealing the bill. The bill was eventually repealed and replaced with House Bill 142 on March 30, 2017.

Personal life
Harris and his wife Beth have three children and six grandchildren.

In January 2019, Harris was reported to have falsely set off a fire alarm, allegedly to avoid news media. Harris explained his actions by stating that he was rushing to catch a sports game.

References

External links
 Mark Harris for Congress
 

1966 births
Anti-same-sex-marriage activists
Appalachian State University alumni
Baptist ministers from the United States
Baptists from North Carolina
Living people
North Carolina Republicans
Politicians from Charlotte, North Carolina
Candidates in the 2018 United States elections Andrew Peter Harris (born January 25, 1957) is an American politician and physician who has been the U.S. representative for  since 2011. The district includes the entire Eastern Shore, as well as several eastern exurbs of Baltimore. He is currently the only Republican member of Maryland's congressional delegation. Harris previously served in the Maryland Senate.

Early life, education, and career
Harris's father was Zoltán Harris, an anesthesiologist who was born in Miskolc, Hungary, in 1911 and emigrated to the United States in 1950; his mother, Irene (Koczerzuk), was born in Zarice, Poland. Harris was born in New York, grew up in Queens, and attended Regis High School in Manhattan.

Harris earned his B.S. in biology (1977) and his M.D. (1980) from The Johns Hopkins University. The university's Bloomberg School of Hygiene and Public Health conferred his M.H.S. in 1995 in health policy and management and  health finance and management.

Harris served in the Navy Medical Corps and the U.S. Naval Reserve as a lieutenant commander on active duty during Operation Desert Storm and currently serves as a commander. He has worked as an anesthesiologist, as an associate professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine, and as chief of obstetric anesthesiology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Harris also served as commanding officer for the Johns Hopkins Naval Reserve Medical Unit from 1989 to 1992.

Maryland General Assembly
Harris was first elected to the Maryland Senate in 1998 for District 9, including part of Baltimore County. He defeated his predecessor, Minority Leader F. Vernon Boozer, in the 1998 primary election. A major factor in the race was Boozer's role in derailing an attempt to ban partial-birth abortion a year earlier; the bill's sponsor, fellow state senator Larry Haines, supported Harris's primary bid. In the general election he defeated Democratic challenger Anthony O. Blades.

His district was later redrawn to be District 7, representing parts of Harford County, succeeding Norman Stone. He defeated Democratic challenger Diane DeCarlo in the general election in 2002, and from 2003 to 2006 served as the minority whip. In 2006, he won re-election, this time defeating Patricia A. Foerster. He was succeeded by J. B. Jennings.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2008

Harris defeated incumbent Republican Wayne Gilchrest and State Senator E.J. Pipkin in the Republican primary for Maryland's 1st congressional district. Harris ran to the right of Gilchrest, one of the moderate Republicans in the House. He explained that he was upset with Gilchrest's decision to support a Democrat-sponsored bill setting a timetable for troop withdrawal from Iraq and suspected that many of his constituents also felt that way. He was endorsed by the Club for Growth, which raised nearly $250,000 for him, and by former governor Bob Ehrlich, seven of 10 state senators who represent parts of the district, and House Minority Leader Anthony O'Donnell.  His general election opponent Frank Kratovil criticized the Club for Growth's policies, and Harris for having its support. Gilchrest endorsed Kratovil for the general election.

On paper, Harris had a strong advantage in the general election due to its Republican lean. Although Democrats and Republicans are nearly tied in registration, the district has a strong tinge of social conservatism that favors Republicans. It had been in Republican hands for all but 14 years since 1947, although Kratovil received a significant boost when Gilchrest endorsed him over Harris.

On election night, Kratovil led Harris by 915 votes. After two rounds of counting absentee ballots, Kratovil's lead grew to 2,000 votes. Forecasting that there was little chance for Harris to close the gap, most media outlets declared Kratovil the winner on the night of November 7. Harris conceded on November 11.

Harris dominated his longtime base in Baltimore's heavily Republican eastern suburbs, which account for most of the district's share of Baltimore County. However, he failed to carry a single county on the Eastern Shore. Proving just how Republican this district still was, John McCain carried it with nearly 60 percent of the vote, which was his best showing in the state.

2010

Harris ran again in the 1st District in 2010. He defeated Rob Fisher, a conservative businessman, in the primary.

Harris's primary win set up a rematch against Kratovil. Libertarian Richard James Davis and Independent Jack Wilson also ran. In the November 2 general election Harris defeated Kratovil by 14%.

2012

The National Journal's Cook Political Report named Harris one of the top 10 Republicans most vulnerable to redistricting in 2012, noting that Maryland Democrats could redraw Harris's home in Cockeysville out of the 1st. Instead, Roscoe Bartlett's 6th District was redrawn. Most of Bartlett's shares of Harford and Baltimore counties were drawn into the 1st, making this already strongly Republican district even more so.

Harris was re-elected to a second term, defeating Democratic challenger Wendy Rosen with 67 percent of the vote. Rosen had withdrawn from the race after being confronted with evidence that she'd voted in both Maryland and Florida in the 2006 and 2008 elections. Rosen had property in Florida, and Maryland law allowed property owners to vote in local elections even if they live elsewhere. However, her Florida voting registration reportedly also gave her access to state and federal elections there, which was not allowed by Maryland law. However, at the time she withdrew, ballots had already been printed. John LaFerla, who had narrowly lost to Rosen in the primary, was endorsed as Rosen's replacement, but could only be a write-in.

2014

Harris defeated Democratic nominee Bill Tilghman for a third term, taking over 70 percent of the vote.

2016

Harris ran for reelection in 2016. In the Republican primary, he faced three challengers and won 78.4 percent of the vote. Former Maryland state delegates member Mike Smigiel came in second place with 10.8 percent of the vote. Smigiel ran because he opposed Harris' strident opposition to marijuana decriminalization in the District of Columbia.

In the general election, Harris won another term with 229,135 votes (67.8%), defeating Democratic nominee Joe Werner, a "little-known Harford County attorney and perennial candidate" who received 94,776 votes (28%). Libertarian candidate Matt Beers received 14,207 votes (4.2%). In February 2016, Harris was the first congressman to endorse candidate Ben Carson for the Republican nomination for president. Carson dropped out two weeks later following a poor performance in the Super Tuesday March 1, 2016 primaries.

2018

While Harris was running for reelection, the Maryland Democratic Party accused him of ethics violations, alleging that Harris might have violated ethics rules requiring members to report the source of spousal income and assets. In response, the Harris campaign said the omission was a mistake and the congressman amended his filing once he became aware of the error.

In the general election, Harris ran against Jesse Colvin and won with 60 percent of the vote.

2020

Harris defeated Democratic nominee Mia Mason for a sixth term, taking over 63 percent of the vote.

Committee assignments
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Subcommittee on Coast Guard & Maritime Transportation
Subcommittee on highways and transit
Subcommittee on water resources & Environment

In October 2015, Harris was named to serve on the Select Investigative Panel on Planned Parenthood.

Caucus memberships
Boating
Chesapeake Bay Caucus
Coal
General Aviation
Freedom Caucus
Hungarian American
GOP Doctors
Immigration Reform
Marcellus Shale
Natural Gas
Northeast Agriculture
Republican Israel Caucus
Sportsmen's

Political positions

Affordable Care Act
Harris opposes the Affordable Care Act and has voted to repeal it.

Debt ceiling
On October 16, 2013, Harris voted against the motion to end the government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling.

2020 presidential election
After Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election and President Donald Trump refused to concede while making false claims of fraud, Harris defended Trump's efforts to overturn the election. Harris falsely claimed there were "large-scale voting irregularities" and "secret, unobserved vote counting in the swing states."

In December 2020, Harris was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives who signed an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of the election held by another state.

Storming of the Capitol
In an interview with WBAL-TV just after evacuating the Capitol after it was stormed, Harris downplayed the violence of the riot, saying "Obviously, later we heard there was a gunshot, but other than that, there was no indication that this was a truly violent protest, as violent as one as you would worry about." Harris also said he understood the frustrations of the rioters and repeated false claims of election fraud.

On January 6, 2021, after the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, Harris was involved in a verbal altercation with Rep. Al Lawson (D-FL) on the House floor after taking offense to Rep. Conor Lamb's criticism of House Republicans for pushing unfounded conspiracy theories. During an interview the next day, Harris falsely claimed that leftist provocateurs were behind the storming of the Capitol.

In June 2021, Harris was among 21 House Republicans who voted against a resolution to give the Congressional Gold Medal to police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

Marijuana
In 2014, Harris was the leading congressional critic of marijuana decriminalization in the District of Columbia bill, and led efforts in Congress to block decriminalization from taking effect. Harris's amendment led to a call from D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray to boycott tourism to Rep. Harris's district and the boycott of Maryland's 1st congressional district, as well as an online campaign requesting that D.C. area businesses refuse him service at their establishments. In November 2014, D.C. residents voted in favor of legalizing recreational cannabis for adults with 68% in favor. Despite this, Harris said he would use "all resources available to a member of Congress to stop this action". On December 9, 2014, congressional leaders announced a deal on a spending bill that included language that will prohibit the D.C. referendum from taking effect. Harris said that "the Constitution gives Congress the ultimate oversight about what happens in the federal district." Harris says that he believes that cannabis is a gateway drug.

Roy Moore
During the primary race of the 2017 special election to fill the vacated Senate seat of Jeff Sessions, Harris endorsed Roy Moore in his successful bid to defeat incumbent Sen. Luther Strange. Following the news of sexual misconduct allegations against Moore, Harris said Moore should withdraw from the race if the allegations against him were true.

COVID-19 response
Harris opposed stay-at-home orders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 2, 2020, he addressed protesters in Salisbury attempting to pressure Maryland governor Larry Hogan to lift restrictions, saying, "I am a physician. Let me tell you something: It is safe to begin to reopen Maryland."

Harris opposed prohibitions on indoor dining during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Second impeachment of Donald Trump
Harris was one of four representatives who did not cast a vote regarding the second impeachment of Donald Trump on January 13, 2021.

Foreign policy
In 2021, during a House vote on a measure condemning the Myanmar coup d'état, Harris was among fourteen Republican representatives who voted against it.

Electoral history

Personal life
Harris was married for 30 years to Sylvia "Cookie" Harris, who died of a heart attack on August 28, 2014. He and his first wife had five children. He remarried in July 2017 to Nicole Beus, a Baltimore County political and marketing consultant.

Harris resides in Cockeysville, Maryland, and considered himself a "citizen-legislator," having maintained his medical practice while in the State Senate.
 
Harris has been an active member in the community as a member of the Knights of Columbus, an officer in the Thornleigh Neighborhood Improvement Association (vice-president, 1984–85; president, 1985–86), a member of the Board of Directors of the Sherwood Community Association, 1987–91, and served as Vice President of St. Joseph's School Home-School Association from 1992 to 1994. Also, he has been on the Board of Directors of the Maryland Leadership Council, 1995–98, a member of the North Central Republican Club (treasurer, 1997–98; vice-president, 1998), and finally as a Delegate to the Republican Party National Convention, 2004. Harris has received the Dr. Henry P. and M. Page Laughlin Distinguished Public Officer Award from the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland in 2001.

2021 gun incident
On January 21, 2021, Harris tried to enter the floor of the United States House of Representatives with a gun, setting off a metal detector on his way in. This was in violation of new security measures adopted after the storming of the U.S. Capitol. Harris was not allowed to enter and returned 10 minutes later without a gun, at which point he was allowed entry. U.S. Capitol Police began an investigation into the incident.

Ivermectin prescriptions
In October 2021, Harris said on a radio show he prescribed ivermectin to constituents for treatment of COVID-19. Currently, ivermectin is used to treat parasites in livestock and river blindness in humans. It is not approved by the FDA for treatment of COVID-19. During a discussion of vaccine mandates by the House Freedom Caucus in November 2021, Harris said that a complaint was filed against him with a physicians board for prescribing ivermectin.

See also
 Physicians in the United States Congress

References

External links
 Congressman Andy Harris official U.S. House website
 Andy Harris for Congress
 
 
 

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1957 births
Living people
21st-century American politicians
American anesthesiologists
United States Navy personnel of the Gulf War
American people of Hungarian descent
Cannabis prohibition
Johns Hopkins Hospital physicians
Johns Hopkins University alumni
Johns Hopkins University faculty
Maryland Republicans
Maryland state senators
Members of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland
Military personnel from Maryland
Military personnel from New York (state)
People from Baltimore County, Maryland
People from Queens, New York
Regis High School (New York City) alumni
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives
United States Navy Medical Corps officers
United States Navy reservists
American Catholics
American nationalists
Right-wing populism in the United States