Heather Mizeur says she will unseat Harris in 2022

But Mizeur could be the toughest challenger Harris has faced in years.

The former member of the Maryland General Assembly has won endorsements from U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Congressman Anthony Brown and former Republican congressman Wayne Gilchrest, as well as several boards of education, county councils and town leaders across the Shore.

Mizeur has also outraised Harris, raising more than $1 million in the campaign so far, with most donations the result of grassroots efforts — 80% of donors have paid $100 or less.

Speaking in an interview, Mizeur said there’s no question that she’s the one who can beat Harris and run him out of office.

“Between the endorsements, the fundraising and the boots on the ground energy, we are the campaign that is surpassing all measures — including Andy Harris. We have raised twice as much money in the same period as he has,” Mizeur said in an Oct. 28 interview. “I always like to point out that money is energy, enthusiasm. And in my case, it’s the support of grassroots.”

While she’s focused on winning the election, Mizeur does have a sharp vision for the Shore. She’s committed to expanding healthcare coverage, the local economy and broadband access — putting together a campaign to better represent and modernize Maryland’s rural communities on the Delmarva Peninsula.

She also has been out helping the community through events like a turkey giveaway Sunday, Nov. 21 in Chestertown.

“What I was known for in Annapolis during my time in the legislature was being a consensus builder, being a risk-taker and being very pragmatic about how to help us achieve victories on policy initiatives, while also providing stellar constituent services,” she said. “And in this moment, we need someone who is going to go to Congress, defend democracy and bring good governance back.”

Mizeur was born in Illinois, the oldest daughter of a retired factory welder. She graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1994, before joining as a legislative assistant for multiple U.S. lawmakers in the mid-1990s.

In 2003, she was hired as a policy assistant for then-U.S. Sen. John Kerry. Mizeur was his domestic policy director and a chief architect of his healthcare reform agenda during his 2004 presidential bid.

Mizeur also served a stint on the Takoma Park City Council for two years before running as a candidate in the General Assembly for Montgomery County in 2007. Mizeur also ran for governor in 2014, but ended the race in third place.

In 2011, Mizeur bought a 34-acre farm in Chestertown with her wife Deborah. A few years later, in 2015 — her last year as a lawmaker — Mizeur retired and didn’t plan to re-enter politics.

But after the events of Jan. 6 — when Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol after claiming election fraud in the 2020 election — Mizeur grew concerned about democracy and Harris’s continuing claims that the election had been stolen from Trump.

Mizeur tweeted that if Harris didn’t resign, she would “help retire” him in 2022.

“When I did that, it wasn’t that I was suggesting I was going to run. It was, ‘I’m going to do everything I can to make sure you’re defeated.’ But it was taken by a lot of people that I would run, and there was a lot of activity generated from that,” she said. “I started spending time thinking about it and realizing I do have a unique set of skills that this moment is asking for.”

Mizeur said District 1 is under immediate threat from Harris, who has acted radically as a lawmaker — he nearly got into a fist fight with another congressman. Harris is subverting democracy and has failed to draft meaningful policy, Mizeur said.

“I believe that Andy Harris gave up his right to represent us that day by breaking his oath of office to protect the Constitution,” she said. “He has been failing at the job for a very long time and is not giving us basic representation.”

Mizeur’s big pitch as a candidate is to give the Shore the representation it deserves through policy action, which she was known for in the General Assembly. She was instrumental in bringing mainstream ideas to the floor before they were mainstream in Maryland — for example, legalizing medical marijuana and advocating for same-sex marriage.

She said she’s also a big believer in healthcare expansion, a constant issue across the country.

Mizeur touts herself as an expert on healthcare, since it was a major part of her role under Kerry. She’s committed to expanding healthcare coverage on the Shore by lowering out of pocket expenses and high deductibles.

“That being said, healthcare coverage doesn’t mean much if folks on the Shore can’t see a doctor near them or have to drive 45 minutes to get to a hospital,” she said. “I’ll leverage my extensive health policy experience to maintain and expand healthcare access in our communities.”

Mizeur also is a champion for economic revitalization on the Shore. She has a simple idea to help foster more economic growth here: lowering barriers for small businesses and being a proactive legislator with a constant open line of communication to help owners with loans and government contracts.

She criticized Harris for abandoning the local economy, arguing he’s not a proactive lawmaker in Congress. As a result, District 1 does not “see that kind of leadership” from him.

“I think there’s a whole lot Congress as a body, and even individual members of Congress, can get done for constituents,” Mizeur said. “The 1st District is now so used to being represented by Andy Harris that they’re not even aware of how much more we can do to facilitate economic growth and create more and better jobs in our communities.”

She wants to increase broadband coverage on the Shore, a major issue in rural communities across the nation.

In Maryland, 300,000 residents lack access to good broadband, which is an increasingly important part of the economy and everyday life, especially after the pandemic moved work, school and appointments online even faster.

In an op-ed in the Baltimore Sun this year, Mizeur explained expanding broadband access was one of her top priorities, and she endorsed a bill that has languished in the U.S. Congress during the pandemic.

That bill, sponsored by House Majority Whip James Clyburn, would invest $100 billion into increased broadband access in underserved communities.

Mizeur also endorsed President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better infrastructure bill, set to invest $40 billion in broadband.

The candidate has promised to clean up the Chesapeake Bay if she wins and address what she says is the biggest polluter of local waterways: agriculture.

Mizeur said she would expand initiatives that reduce litter, like one from Planet Found Energy Development, a Berlin-based company that turns chicken manure into renewable products like potting soil.

Mizeur is outspoken about environmental issues. Her vision investing in offshore wind technologies and farming carbon.

Mizeur faces a Democratic primary in June, where she is up against Dave Harden, an entrepreneur and former administrative employee in the Obama administration, and Jennifer Pingley, a nurse who lives in Elkton.

Mizeur also faces a challenge with the district map itself — District 1 currently includes the nine Eastern Shore counties and parts of Carroll, Harford and Baltimore counties. Traditionally, the district has leaned conservative. The district, however, will be redrawn early next year, and the map could end up favoring either Mizeur or Harris.

While she’s got a long road ahead until the November election, Mizeur remains confident she can win.

“I see change happening in politics based on the events of Jan. 6,” Mizeur said. “I have been able to build a big tent coalition of Republicans, Independents and Democrats who are ready to defeat Andy Harris and bring bold, fearless and dignified leadership back to this district.”