Congressional Candidate Andy Harris: Moving Forward And Gaining Steam

Off and Running...

Last month the Andy Harris for Congress campaign kicked off with four stops throughout Maryland's First District. I began the day in Bel Air with an enthusiastic crowd that came out on a cold morning to show their support. Then on to Annapolis where the Maryland Republican Party headquarters was filled to capacity with nearly all of the Republican elected officials from Anne Arundel County and many, many friends. Next stop was Easton, where I was greeted by citizens and small business owners who want a representative in Washington that will bring common sense and fiscal sanity to Congress. And the final stop of the day was Salisbury where my good friends from around the lower shore pledged to work hard through November to elect me as their next Congressman.

Thank you for making the kick off for Andy Harris for Congress a tremendous success. Your support of our campaign to improve the economy, health care and our national security is the most important part of this endeavor. I am incredibly grateful for the support I am gaining every day from citizens like you who care about the issues we face and making a better future for us, our children and our grandchildren.

It was a fantastic way to begin my campaign surrounded by hundreds of supporters fired up and ready to work hard to restore our shared values in Washington by electing a new member of Congress who is dedicated to bringing prosperity back to the District and the nation.

Please join me and the many Marylanders that have signed on to help. Get involved today here.

Ellen Sauerbrey Joins Harris for Congress as Campaign Chair

You are the first to know about the addition of someone I respect to the campaign who has fought to improve Maryland for many years. Ellen Sauerbrey has joined Andy Harris for Congress as our campaign chair. She will bring her leadership, experience and knowledge of the issues Marylanders care most about to the campaign. This is an important development considering my campaign is centered around the voters in the District rather than the powerful Washington interests. Few have worked as long and as hard as Ellen to take on those powerful interests while working to cut taxes and promote job creation for the citizens of the state. I'm proud to have her on the team and know that her input will be invaluable to our success.

We Have the Momentum...

Exciting news about the momentum we are building! Recently I was named the most likely Republican challenger to defeat an incumbent Democrat in the nation by the Washington Post's "The Fix" column. "The Fix" also named Maryland's First District as the fifth most competitive district in the country. Read it here.

My campaign has received the endorsement of nearly all elected Republicans from the General Assembly that represent parts of the district and the only two Republican county executives in Maryland.

The National Republican Congressional Committee ranked me as one of their top challengers in the new "Young Guns" program, which ranks GOP challengers across the nation.

Stuart Rothenberg, author of the "Rothenberg Report" and one of the leading Congressional race observers in Washington, just a month ago said that he would not rate any challenger race better than a "toss-up" until much later in the year. But after the election of Scott Brown in Massachusetts, he changed his mind, and now rates my race as "tilt Republican" - a very important development in a challenger race.

The momentum we are building has been significant and is bringing on board Republicans, Democrats and Independents in the District who know that our nation is on the wrong track and are supporting me to steer us back.

We have to continue working hard because Nancy Pelosi and her liberal allies and lobbyist friends have already begun funneling money to my opponent so that she can continue to have control over how our District votes.

I cannot do this without you and will take you, and the issues you care most about, with me to Washington come November.

Maryland and Washington...More of the Same

The Maryland General Assembly session began three weeks ago with the state once again facing a $3 billion budget deficit and billion dollar deficits projected until at least 2015 (the farthest the state will project out on fiscal issues.) The deficit over the next four years will be at least $8.4 billion, which doesn't include all of the new programs the majority in Annapolis will be trying to pass over the next 65 days. As a State Senator, since the first day I was elected to office I have fought to stop the reckless spending in Annapolis, instill fiscal responsibility in the halls of our state capitol and be an unwavering advocate for Maryland families, small businesses and citizens. I will bring that same commitment to Washington, which clearly needs it.

Just last week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to raise the country's debt ceiling to a record $1.9 trillion! This was done as Congressional Democrats seek to pass another stimulus that they're disingenuously calling a jobs bill. In fact, the proposal being discussed in Washington would be anti-jobs, leading to more government borrowing to finance debt which will further stifle lending to private sector employers who can't find the loans to expand their businesses and create new jobs. The growing debt burden is bankrupting the nation. Americans are demanding a return to fiscal conservatism in our nation's capitol. This is why I believe that together we will be successful in November.

While there are some proposals that I would support in the legislation, including extending credit to small businesses and tax cuts, the sudden focus by Congressional Democrats and the White House on jobs is a direct result of the millions of Americans who have stood up to say "enough is enough!" While it is encouraging that Congressional leaders have put aside the publicly-opposed health care and cap-and-trade bills for now to concentrate on what American taxpayers really want to see done, this turnabout by national Democrats can only be ascribed to their desire to stay in power and survive the 2010 mid-term elections. This is why we need to remain vigilant and elect true taxpayer and small business advocates to Congress to replace the conservative-in-name-only incumbents that will soon be back to voting the way Nancy Pelosi dictates, not according to the citizens of the District.

Be a Harris Grassroots Leader...

My campaign now has volunteer coordinators in nearly every county in the District. We are mobilizing more every day. But we need all the help we can get! Sign up today and join me at our grassroots meeting on Saturday, February 13, 2010 in Kent Island. For more information, email me at info@andyharris.com.

I hope you and your family are staying safe and warm from the snow.