Midway through an acrimony-laden candidate forum Oct. 21 at the Talbot County Free Library in Easton, Democratic congressional contender Jesse Colvin 鈥� while responding to a question on immigration reform 鈥� lobbed a verbal grenade.
鈥滵r. Harris, I know we鈥檙e both veterans, but this is one of those moments where I wish you had a chance to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan or a war zone,鈥� Colvin told his opponent, avowedly conservative four-term Rep. Andrew P. Harris. 鈥淎nd I say that because in Iraq or Afghanistan or Vietnam, ideological leaders got people killed.鈥�
A stunned look could be seen on Harris鈥� face. 鈥淲ow,鈥� he muttered softly, seated at the other end of the table from Colvin, with Libertarian Party nominee Jenica Martin serving as a human buffer between them.
Colvin continued his answer. 鈥淚f we鈥檙e ever going to have a bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform, it depends on who鈥檚 at that table. Because if you have ideologues at the table, we鈥檙e never going to get anywhere.鈥�
Two questions later, when a member of the audience at the League of Women Voters forum asked about the environment, Harris took the opportunity to strike back.
鈥淪ome people suggest there鈥檚 divisiveness going on,鈥� he told the audience. 鈥淟adies and gentlemen, I never thought that I would ever hear a fellow veteran criticize my 16 years in the Navy Reserve as a physician taking care of our wounded men and women in uniform 鈥� and it happened at this table. Think long and hard about what happened.鈥�
Colvin, a 34-year-old veteran of four tours of Afghanistan, sought to retreat a bit.
鈥淒r. Harris, we were not very sensitive in the Army Rangers, and I鈥檓 sorry I hurt your feelings,鈥� he said.
But the 61-year-old congressman, apparently sensing a self-inflicted wound, kept up the counteroffensive. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to repeat it 鈥� I never thought I鈥檇 hear the day a fellow veteran would say that somehow my service was unequal to someone else鈥檚 service. That is stunning to me,鈥� he declared, to groans and other expressions of disapproval from an audience clearly partial to Colvin.
Welcome to war 鈥� or something close to it 鈥� this year in the 1st District, a 200-mile-long expanse of a dozen counties centered on Maryland鈥檚 Eastern Shore.
In a constituency where up to 75,000 residents are veterans of military service, Colvin, in a recent interview, compared his campaign to an 鈥渋nsurgency.鈥�
鈥淭his election is a referendum on Andy Harris 鈥� and there is an insurgency in Maryland鈥檚 1st Congressional District to unseat him,鈥� Colvin declared. 鈥淚 am the leader of that insurgency.鈥�
Notwithstanding the sentiments of the audience in Easton, few outside the Colvin camp believe that 鈥� barring a blue wave of unprecedented proportions on Nov. 6 鈥� the Democrat has a shot at toppling Harris this year. During the 2011 redistricting, Maryland Democrats packed as many Republicans as possible into the 1st, to give them the edge in the state鈥檚 other seven congressional districts.
But Colvin 鈥� thanks to a relentless schedule of campaigning, a large network of volunteers and strong fundraising 鈥� is giving Harris a contest unlike any that the incumbent has seen he was first elected in 2010. And Harris appears to be taking the challenge seriously.
During the only two debates of the campaign 鈥� one in a studio aired last Thursday on cable TV in Cecil County, the other Sunday鈥檚 LWV forum 鈥� Harris was repeatedly on the counterattack. His frequent verbal 鈥渇act checks鈥� on claims made by Colvin were clearly aimed at undermining the credibility of his opponent, a first-time candidate. A couple of Harris鈥� efforts succeeded in calling attention to some overstated rhetoric on the part of his novice foe.
Colvin鈥檚 military service is not only something he mentions repeatedly on the trail: It has infused his campaign organization and strategy 鈥� his campaign manager was his deputy in a Ranger unit in Afghanistan 鈥� and given him confidence that he can overcome steep political odds.
鈥淚 just set about applying what I had learned in Afghanistan,鈥� Colvin said during an interview late last month. 鈥淲hen I talk about running an insurgency, we have 1,250 volunteers on the ground, and they are reflective of the coalition that we鈥檝e built. It goes from one side with the Bernie Sanders chapter to the AFL-CIO, to Congressman Wayne Gilchrest to President George W. Bush鈥檚 secretary of the VA.鈥� Both Gilchrest, a Republican who represented the district from 1990-2008, and Bush administration VA Secretary Anthony Principi were among those scheduled to speak at a veterans鈥� roundtable sponsored by the Colvin campaign in Harford County Oct. 24.
In a district where Republicans have a 45 percent-35 percent advantage over Republicans, and which President Trump carried by more than 25 points in 2016, Colvin has sought to keep his public distance from state and national Democrats 鈥� even as he has received significant financial support from Democratic insiders.
His campaign signs, omnipresent on road sides throughout the district, do not identify him as a Democrat. Many include the phrase 鈥淐ountry Over Party,鈥� a mantra he invoked a half-dozen times during Sunday鈥檚 90-minute forum.
He has not endorsed his party鈥檚 gubernatorial nominee, Benjamin T. Jealous, while at times seeking to identify with Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R), a popular figure in the district. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a difference between ideological conservatism versus the pragmatic conservatism of a Gov. Hogan,鈥� Colvin gibed at one point during Sunday鈥檚 debate, seeking to compare Harris unfavorably to Hogan.
And he has sought to avoid direct attacks on Trump. 鈥淭his race is a referendum on Andy Harris: It is not left versus right, it is not Democrats versus Republicans,鈥� Colvin said in the earlier interview. 鈥淲e have folks in our tent who support the president, and we have folks in our tent who don鈥檛.鈥�
What he sees uniting the two camps is, in part, generational. 鈥淢y sense is that there is a widespread recognition that Congress is so weighed down by hyper-partisanship and careerism 鈥� that they are looking for a new generation of leadership that is going to put country over party, and they see that in a candidate who volunteers for combat in Afghanistan and is a Democrat but whose wife is a Republican,鈥� he said. His wife, Jordan Colvin, is a former police officer.
One of Colvin鈥檚 national endorsements has come from With Honor 鈥� an Alexandria, Va.-based group that seeks to promote 鈥渘ext-generation鈥�, post-9/11 military veterans running for office. Colvin is among nearly 40 endorsements by the group nationwide, split evenly between Democrats and Republicans.
鈥淲e鈥檙e immensely frustrated 鈥� we fought years in Iraq, we fought years in Afghanistan, we were sent there with no exit strategy,鈥� Colvin said. 鈥淢any of us lost friends and colleagues over there, many of us have lost friends and colleagues since we got home, to things like post-traumatic stress.鈥�
Groups such as With Honor and Vote Vets, which also has endorsed Colvin, 鈥渁re counting on us, when the party bosses want us to vote down party lines鈥here it would be to the detriment of our country, to speak the truth to power and volunteer to raise our hands and say no,鈥� he said.
As part of the endorsement from With Honor, 鈥測ou sign a pledge grounded in civility and integrity 鈥� and things like once a month in office, you鈥檒l get coffee with somebody from the other side of the political aisle,鈥� as well as participating in a bipartisan Veterans Caucus, Colvin explained, adding, 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a sad reflection of where we are in terms of in terms of hyper-partisanship in Congress that we need that pledge.鈥�
But if Colvin is vowing to forge a newly civil tone on Capitol Hill if elected, his strategy for getting there at times has seemed akin to rhetorical scorched earth policy.
鈥漈here鈥檚 something called the Ranger Creed. For Army Rangers, it鈥檚 sacrosanct 鈥� for me, it鈥檚 just shy of my marriage vows,鈥� he told Harris during a discussion of health care during Sunday鈥檚 forum. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a line in there 鈥� never leave behind a fallen comrade. For you sir, your Ranger Creed is the Hippocratic oath. You鈥檝e left behind fallen comrades.鈥�
鈥淲e have a fantastic VA facility in Cambridge, Md., that services the entire Eastern Shore,鈥� Colvin declared during last week鈥檚 debate at Cecil College. 鈥淲e went down and did a visit, and one thing we learned was that, in eight years, Dr. Harris, you鈥檝e never gone to that VA facility. You have a condo down there and you鈥檙e a physician; you鈥檝e served in the Navy鈥hame on you, sir.鈥�
Retorted Harris: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e right, Jesse: You鈥檙e a veteran and I鈥檓 a veteran. But鈥� I鈥檝e actually taken care of patients in a VA hospital.鈥� The jab continued. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 glad you could find your way to Cambridge, Jesse, because a newcomer to the district sometimes can鈥檛 find their way there.鈥� Colvin, who repeatedly boasts of being a fourth-generation Maryland whose grandparents arrived in Baltimore more than a century ago, lived in New York City and Washington, D.C., prior to moving to Perry Hall in Baltimore County 鈥� located in the 1st District 鈥� about 14 months ago.
h4>History repeats itself
The historical irony is that Harris is employing a tactic that was used against him 10 years ago when he first ran for the seat. Then a resident of Cockeysville in Baltimore County 鈥� which today remains his primary place of residence 鈥� Harris lost in 2008 to Democrat Frank Kratovil amid suggestions that he was insufficiently tied to the Eastern Shore core of the district. He proceeded to establish a second residence on the Eastern Shore, and ousted Kratovil in 2010.
Besides highlighting his own military experience, as part of the Johns Hopkins Naval Reserve Medical Unit, Harris has sought to draw Colvin into the politically charged debate over whether veterans should be able to opt to seek care outside the VA hospital system.
鈥淪o, Jesse, I鈥檓 going to call on you to join me and call to allow for every veteran who鈥檚 eligible to receive health benefits in a VA system to receive that inside or outside the system,鈥� Harris during the Cecil County TV debate, a challenge repeated Sunday during the LWV forum in Easton. 鈥淭hey earned the ability to choose where they receive their health care.鈥�
Colvin did not respond directly during either session, outside of observing during the first debate, 鈥淚t鈥檚 really easy to beat up on the VA. What鈥檚 harder is showing up and building relationships.鈥�
Colvin campaign spokesman Sam Schneider Monday charged that 鈥渨hat Harris is doing is just a dog whistle for privatization,鈥� adding, 鈥淚t鈥檚 a way of him pushing privatization without defending it.鈥�
Harris Sunday also went after Colvin on two other health related matters: the opioid crisis and the Affordable Care Act.
鈥� After Colvin declared three times during the Cecil College debate that Harris 鈥渉as taken hundreds of thousands of dollars鈥� in contributions from pharmaceutical firms, and repeated the charge at the outset of the LWV session Sunday in Easton, Harris told the audience: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to hear some outrageous things from my opponent today. You鈥檝e already heard one鈥揾undreds of thousands of dollars from the pharmaceutical industry.鈥� Continued Harris, waving a sheet of paper: 鈥淭he good thing is that you can actually go and check that. You can go to OpenSecrets.org and see how much it is. My opponents said he worked for a bank, he was assistant vice president. He should know numbers better than that.鈥�
鈥楬e knows it鈥檚 not true鈥�
Asked to provide a figure to back up Colvin鈥檚 claims, the Colvin campaign Monday also pointed to the Open Secrets site, maintained by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. It shows Harris receiving $108,250 from pharmaceutical and health product interests since he first ran for Congress a decade ago 鈥� putting it above six figures, albeit short of 鈥渉undreds of thousands鈥� cited by Colvin. Harris pharmaceutical industry-related donations fall far short of his major source of donations: health professionals, who have donated nearly $2.25 million to Harris, an anesthesiologist by profession, over the past decade.
鈥� On the Affordable Care Act, Harris cited a Congressional Research Service study to dispute Colvin鈥檚 claims. 鈥淲e鈥檒l just do the soundbite fact check right up front because I know what my opponent is going to say. He鈥檚 going to say I voted to repeal Obamacare 70 times. He knows it鈥檚 not true,鈥� Harris declared. 鈥淭wenty of those votes were actually signed into law by President Obama. So read the whole story.鈥�
Colvin spokesman Schneider did acknowledge that about 20 of the 70 repeal votes cited by Colvin involved provisions that either modified or repealed portions of so-called 鈥淥bamacare,鈥� that were signed into law by the former president, while contending, 鈥淥bama, in a lot of cases, wasn鈥檛 going to be able to get really critical legislation passed unless he conceded some ground on some of those votes. It wasn鈥檛 like he was in favor of these repeals and various adjustments 鈥� he had his hands tied.鈥� Schneider added that the vast majority of of repeal measures supported by Harris were Republican-sponsored attempts at total repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
Meanwhile, Harris also disputed charges by Colvin that he had voted to take away coverage of pre-existing conditions required by Obama. 鈥淚鈥檝e always supported coverage of pre-existing conditions,鈥� Harris declared. But the American Health Care Act 鈥� so-called 鈥淭rumpcare鈥� that Harris supported last year as a replacement for the Affordable Care Act 鈥� potentially undercut coverage of pre-existing conditions for some citizens by allowing states to waive minimum benefit standards. The bill failed to clear Congress after the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) cast the deciding 鈥渘o鈥� vote in that chamber.
The two sides also skirmished on the economic front. 鈥淣ational unemployment 鈥� it鈥檚 at an all-time low,鈥� Colvin said during the first debate. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 great. Here鈥檚 the problem. In our district, it鈥檚 twice the national average.鈥� When he repeated that statement in the Easton forum Sunday, it prompted Harris to gibe: 鈥淎s Ronald Reagan said, 鈥楾here you go again.’鈥� The only county in the district with an unemployment rate twice the national average was Worcester 鈥� home to Ocean City, said Harris, adding, 鈥淢r. Colvin, if you weren鈥檛 from Washington, D.C. and Baltimore City, you鈥檇 know why Worcester County has twice as high unemployment as the official statistics鈥t鈥檚 seasonal business area. It鈥檚 had it for 50 years.鈥�
The Colvin campaign responded Monday with federal statistics showing that Somerset County, next door to Worcester, also had an unemployment rate double the national average of 3.7 percent. The district-wide average is 6 percent, Schneider noted, suggesting that Harris was 鈥渟plitting hairs.鈥� Said Schneider: 鈥淥ur point is that [the district rate] is almost double the national average, and 65 percent higher is a big deal.鈥�
