Andy Harris’ debate outburst fuels Dan Schwartz fundraising surge

Dan Schwartz hadn’t finished his debate with Republican Rep. Andy Harris when the new campaign donations started arriving.

They picked up in the days after Harris scolded the debate audience and reporters, Schwartz said — more than 3,400 contributions from donors in Maryland and across the country. Then came a flood of interview requests from podcasters, reporters and TV news outlets. He appeared on conservative-leaning NewsNation more than once.

The debate has become a turning point in the race for Maryland’s 1st Congressional District, though it may not change the outcome. Two political handicappers have since shifted Maryland’s only Republican district from “safe Republican” to “likely Republican.”

Schwartz — a first-time candidate with just $106,000 in the bank, according to his most recent campaign finance report — is trying to capitalize on the free media attention generated at Harris’ expense.

Schwartz has received messages and money from people as far away as Miami and Lubbock, Texas, because they saw the Harris footage on their local news. He did not know how many out-of-state donations he had received, and most postdebate donations won’t be reported until after the election.

But the nearly $200,000 cash infusion allowed the campaign to buy television ads.

“He’s doing the work for us now,” Schwartz said. “It’s really pretty unexpected. All he had to do was, honestly, stay home and not show up for a debate.”

Harris’ campaign did not respond to a request for comment, and reports on Harris’ postdebate fundraising are not yet available.

Harris blamed Democrats for high diesel prices during the debate and lashed out at the audience for laughing at the claim. Later, video showed Harris berating reporters in a postdebate news conference.

His crashout caught fire on social media and headlined national news broadcasts, drawing mostly unfavorable attention to Harris and putting a spotlight on an alternative — Schwartz.

A former consumer financial protection watchdog, Schwartz quit his job in April 2025 to run for the seat representing Maryland’s mostly rural Eastern Shore, Cecil and Harford counties, and part of Baltimore County.

Harris plays a starring role in Schwartz’s new ad. The 30-second clip shows Harris telling audience members they are “rude,” mocking Schwartz and scolding University of Maryland graduate student Cat Murphy for recording him during the postdebate news conference.

Harris, first elected in 2010, is seeking his ninth term in a district that went for Trump by double digits in the last three elections. That creates “a math problem” for Schwartz, said Jacob Rubashkin, deputy editor of Inside Elections, a nonpartisan newsletter covering House and Senate races.

Despite the tough political climate for Republicans, there just aren’t enough Democrats in the district to put him over the top, Rubashkin said.

“This map was drawn to elect seven Democrats and one Republican, and that’s what it has done for over a decade now,” Rubashkin said.

Schwartz said the days following the debate have been his campaign’s highest fundraising days. He’s fine with Harris keeping this viral moment going “as long as he wants to keep it going.”

“We really had a definitive win,” Schwartz said of the debate, “but we also had this incredible fundraising bump, and this earned media attention, which is priceless.”