Brian Harrison (Texas politician)

Last updated
Tara Napier
​
(m. 2011)​
Brian Harrison
Brian E. Harrison.jpg
Member of the TexasHouseofRepresentatives
from the 10th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
October 12, 2021
Children4
Residence(s) Midlothian, Texas, U.S.
Education Texas A&M University (BA)

Brian Edward Harrison (born May 19, 1982) is an American government official who served as chief of staff of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). He ran for the United States House of Representatives in the 2021 special election for Texas's 6th congressional district, gaining 10.8% of the vote and placing fourth in a field of 23 candidates. [1] He won the special election race for the Texas House of Representatives District 10 on September 28, 2021. [2]

Contents

Education

A graduate of Ovilla Christian School, [3] Harrison earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Texas A&M University. [4]

Career

From 2005 to 2009, Harrison held positions at the Department of Health and Human Services, Social Security Administration, United States Department of Defense, and Office of the Vice President of the United States during the Presidency of George W. Bush. [4] [5] [6]

After leaving government service in 2009, he was the director of healthcare practice at the DCI Group, a public affairs consulting group. [5] [7] [8] In 2011, he was a delegate at the annual American-German Young Leaders Conference organized by the American Council on Germany. [7] Harrison then worked at his father's homebuilding business, Harrison Homes. [5] From 2012 to 2018 he owned and operated a Dallas, Texas, dog-breeding business called Dallas Labradoodles. [6] [9] [10]

During the Presidency of Donald Trump, Harrison was appointed deputy chief of staff in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and promoted to chief of staff when his predecessor departed in June 2019. [11] Harrison coordinated the HHS early response to the COVID-19 pandemic before those responsibilities were transferred to Robert Kadlec in February 2020. [12] According to Harrison, he worked “closely” with Dr. Anthony Fauci and was "an integral leader of the development of Operation Warp Speed." [13] [14]

In February 2021, Harrison was reported to be exploring running for the special election in Texas's 6th congressional district after the death of incumbent Ron Wright. [15] On March 1, 2021, Harrison officially declared his candidacy. [16] [17] Harrison came in fourth place in the special election with 10.81% of the vote. [18] [19]

Two months later on August 9, 2021, Harrison announced his candidacy for the Texas House of Representatives District 10 special election to replace Jake Ellzey, who vacated the district seat after winning the Texas's 6th congressional district special election, the one Harrison ran for in May. [20] [21] The special election was held on August 31, 2021, and Harrison placed first with 41 percent of the vote with 4,613 votes and John Wray placed second with 36 percent of the vote with 4,031 votes. Harrison and Wray would later face each other in a runoff election. [22] The runoff was held on September 28, 2021, and Harrison defeated Wray 55.38% to 44.62%. [2]

Harrison supports a ban on Democrats being given committee chairmanships as long as the Republicans hold the majority of seats in the Texas House. [23]

On May 27, 2023, Harrison voted against impeaching Attorney General Ken Paxton. [24]

In May 2024, following Attorney General Ken Paxton's trial and failure to pass School Choice, Harrison helped lead the charge to replace ideologically opposed Republicans with Republicans who shared Harrison's priorities. [25] Along with Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Texas Senator Ted Cruz they successfully replaced 15 Republican incumbents with new ideologically aligned Republicans. [26]

Electoral history

Results

Texas's 6th congressional district special election, 2021 [19]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Susan Wright15,02119.21
Republican Jake Ellzey 10,85113.85
Democratic Jana Sanchez10,49713.39
Republican Brian Harrison8,47610.81
Democratic Shawn Lassiter6,9648.89
Republican John Anthony Castro4,3215.51
Democratic Tammy Allison Holloway4,2385.41
Democratic Lydia Bean 2,9203.73
Republican Michael Wood2,5033.19
Republican Michael Ballantine2,2242.84
Republican Dan Rodimer 2,0862.66
Democratic Daryl J. Eddings Sr.1,6522.11
Republican Mike Egan1,5431.97
Democratic Patrick Moses1,1891.52
Democratic Manuel R. Salazar III1,1191.43
Republican Sery Kim8881.13
Republican Travis Rodermund4600.59
Independent Adrian Mizher3510.45
Democratic Brian K. Stephenson2710.35
Libertarian Phil Gray2650.34
Democratic Matthew Hinterlong2520.32
Republican Jennifer Garcia Sharon1500.19
Democratic Chris Suprun1020.13
Total votes78,374 100
Texas House of Representatives 10th District special election, 2021 [27]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Brian Harrison4,61340.70
Republican John Wray 4,03135.57
Democratic Pierina Otiniano1,28111.30
Republican Kevin Griffin8837.79
Republican Clark Wickliffe3513.10
Independent Scott Goodwin1070.94
Republican Susan Mellina Hayslip370.33
Libertarian Matt Savino310.27
Total votes
2021 Texas House of Representatives 10th district special runoff election [28] [29]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Brian Harrison 6,717 55.38
Republican John Wray 5,41244.62
Total votes11,334 100.0%
Republican hold

Personal life

Harrison was married to Tara Napier in 2011. [30] She worked at the White House during the Bush administration in 2007 and at the Office of the Secretary of Defense from 2005 to 2011 before being hired by BP as communications manager in December 2011. [30] She became head of corporate affairs in 2019. Harrison and Napier have four children. [30] Harrison's father, Ed Harrison, ran for U.S. Congress in Texas's 24th congressional district in 1994 and 1996 against Democrat Martin Frost and for state Senate against Republican Kip Averitt in 2002, losing all three. [31]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Steinhauser, Paul (2021-03-01). "Ex-Trump administration HHS official Brian Harrison announces run for Texas House seat". Fox News. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  2. 1 2 Svitek, Patrick. Brian Harrison wins Texas House seat after beating fellow Republican John Wray, who used to hold the seat, Texas Tribune , September 28, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Texas House of Representatives".
  4. 1 2 "Brian Harrison". hhs.gov. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 20 January 2015. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 Gillman, Todd (April 24, 2020). "No, Trump did not put a Labradoodle breeder in charge of COVID-19 response". Dallas Morning News . Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  6. 1 2 Ballhaus, Rebecca (April 22, 2020). "Health Chief's Early Missteps Set Back Coronavirus Response". The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  7. 1 2 "2011 Annual Report" (PDF). acgusa.org. American Council on Germany. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Why would a former dog breeder help oversee a pandemic response?". MSNBC.com. 23 April 2020. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
  9. ↑ Slisco, Aila (April 22, 2020). "Who Is Brian Harrison? Former Labradoodle Breeder Reportedly Led HHS Response to Coronavirus". newsweek.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  10. ↑ Rostom, Aram (April 22, 2020). "Special Report: Former Labradoodle breeder tapped to lead U.S. pandemic task force". Reuters . Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  11. ↑ Rappleye, Emily (June 5, 2019). "HHS chief of staff departs". Becker's Hospital Review. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  12. ↑ Diamond, Dan (March 5, 2020). "White House sidelines Azar from coronavirus response". Politico . Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  13. ↑ Staff (October 14, 2021). "Rep. Harrison files bill to ban all COVID vaccine mandates". www.athensreview.com. Athens Daily Review. Retrieved 30 April 2024. I am honored to be able to use my experience, as President Trump's Chief of Staff for the Department of Health and Human Services and as an integral leader of the development of Operation Warp Speed
  14. ↑ Harrison, Brian (January 24, 2021). "Brian Harrison: Trump program to develop and distribute COVID vaccines was a historic success". www.foxnews.com. Fox News. Retrieved 30 April 2024. Fortunately, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and someone I worked with closely, has publicly contradicted this.
  15. ↑ Cancryn, Adam (February 12, 2021). "Top Trump health aide mulls run for Congress". Politico . Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  16. ↑ Steinhauser, Paul (2021-03-01). "Ex-Trump administration HHS official Brian Harrison announces run for Texas House seat". Fox News. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  17. ↑ "Trump administration official Brian Harrison jumps into race to replace Ron Wright in Congress". Dallas News. 2021-03-01. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  18. ↑ Mutnick, Amy (May 2, 2021). "Dems get locked out of Texas special election". Yahoo! News . Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  19. 1 2 "Texas' 6th Congressional District's election results". www.texastribune.org. Texas Tribune. May 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  20. ↑ Svitek, Patrick. Special election to fill former state Rep. Jake Ellzey's North Texas seat set for Aug. 31, Texas Tribune , August 6, 2021.
  21. ↑ Harrison files for House District 10, Weatherford Democrat , August 14, 2021.
  22. ↑ Sparks, Hayden. Brian Harrison, John Wray Head to a Runoff for Texas House Seat to Replace Congressman Jake Ellzey, The Texan, September 1, 2021.
  23. ↑ Johnson, Brad. The Back Mic: Legislators Opposed to Democratic Chairs Listed, Rep. Moody Quells DA Appointment Rumors, House Rules Discussed, The Texan, December 9, 2022.
  24. ↑ Astudillo, Carla and Chris Essig. Ken Paxton was impeached by the Texas House. See how each representative voted., Texas Tribune , May 27, 2023.
  25. ↑ WALTENS, Brandon (May 14, 2024). "Senior Editor". No. Silver Bullet Bus Tour to Travel the State Ahead of Runoff Elections. Texas Scorecard. Texas Scorecard. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  26. ↑ SCHERER, JASPER (May 28, 2024). "politics reporter". No. Texas House runoffs bring wave of GOP incumbent defeats, give Abbott votes for school vouchers. Texas Tribune. Texas Tribune. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  27. ↑ Texas Secretary of State
  28. ↑ "2021 Special Runoff Election House District 10". Texas Election Results. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  29. ↑ Svitek, Patrick (September 28, 2021). "Brian Harrison wins Texas House seat after beating fellow Republican John Wray, who used to hold the seat". The Texas Tribune . Retrieved September 29, 2021.
  30. 1 2 3 Sherman, Jake; Palmer, Anna; Ross, Garrett; Okun, Eli (April 20, 2020). "POLITICO Playbook PM: More haggling on PPP". Politico . Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  31. ↑ Our Campaigns: Harrison, Ed
Texas House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the
Texas House of Representatives
from the 10th district
2021–present		Incumbent
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