Brian Harrison (Texas politician)

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Brian Harrison
Brian E. Harrison.jpg
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 10th district
Assumed office
October 12, 2021
Preceded byJake Ellzey
Chief of Staff of the United States Department of Health and Human Services
In office
July 2019 – January 20, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byPeter Urbanowicz
Succeeded bySean McCluskie
Personal details
Born
Brian Edward Harrison

(1982-05-19) May 19, 1982 (age 39)
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
Tara Napier
​
(m. 2011)​
Children4
ResidenceMidlothian, Texas, U.S.
EducationTexas 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]

Education[]

Harrison earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Texas A&M University.[3]

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.[3][4][5]

After leaving government service in 2009, he was the director of healthcare practice at the DCI Group, a public affairs consulting group.[4][6][7] In 2011, he was a delegate at the annual American-German Young Leaders Conference organized by the American Council on Germany.[6] Harrison then worked at his father's homebuilding business, Harrison Homes.[4] From 2012 to 2018 he owned and operated a Dallas, Texas, dog-breeding business called Dallas Labradoodles.[5][8][9]

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.[10] Harrison coordinated the HHS early response to the COVID-19 pandemic before those responsibilities were transferred to Robert Kadlec in February 2020.[11]

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.[12] On March 1, 2021, Harrison officially declared his candidacy.[13][14] Harrison came in fourth place in the special election with 10.81% of the vote.[15][16]

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 Brian ran for back in May.[17][18] 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.[19] The runoff was held on September 28, 2021, and Harrison defeated Wray 55.38% to 44.62%.[2]

Electoral history[]

Results[]

Texas's 6th congressional district special election, 2021[16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Susan Wright 15,021 19.21
Republican Jake Ellzey 10,851 13.85
Democratic Jana Sanchez 10,497 13.39
Republican Brian Harrison 8,476 10.81
Democratic Shawn Lassiter 6,964 8.89
Republican John Anthony Castro 4,321 5.51
Democratic Tammy Allison Holloway 4,238 5.41
Democratic Lydia Bean 2,920 3.73
Republican Michael Wood 2,503 3.19
Republican Michael Ballantine 2,224 2.84
Republican Dan Rodimer 2,086 2.66
Democratic Daryl J. Eddings Sr. 1,652 2.11
Republican Mike Egan 1,543 1.97
Democratic Patrick Moses 1,189 1.52
Democratic Manuel R. Salazar III 1,119 1.43
Republican Sery Kim 888 1.13
Republican Travis Rodermund 460 0.59
Independent Adrian Mizher 351 0.45
Democratic Brian K. Stephenson 271 0.35
Libertarian Phil Gray 265 0.34
Democratic Matthew Hinterlong 252 0.32
Republican Jennifer Garcia Sharon 150 0.19
Democratic Chris Suprun 102 0.13
Total votes 78,374 100
Texas House of Representatives 10th District special election, 2021[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Brian Harrison 4,613 40.70
Republican John Wray 4,031 35.57
Democratic Pierina Otiniano 1,281 11.30
Republican Kevin Griffin 883 7.79
Republican Clark Wickliffe 351 3.10
Independent Scott Goodwin 107 0.94
Republican Susan Mellina Hayslip 37 0.33
Libertarian Matt Savino 31 0.27
Total votes
2021 Texas House of Representatives 10th district special runoff election[21][22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Brian Harrison 6,717 55.38
Republican John Wray 5,412 44.62
Total votes 11,334 100.0%
Republican hold

Personal life[]

Harrison was married to Tara Napier in 2011.[23] 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.[23] She became head of corporate affairs in 2019. Harrison and Napier have four children.[23] Harrison's father, Ed Harrison, ran losing campaigns for congress in 1994 and 1996 and a failed state senate primary campaign in 2002. [1]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Steinhauser, Paul (2021-03-01). "Ex-Trump administration HHS official Brian Harrison announces run for Texas House seat". Fox News (in American English). Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  2. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "Brian Harrison". hhs.gov. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c 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.
  5. ^ a b Ballhaus, Rebecca (April 22, 2020). "Health Chief's Early Missteps Set Back Coronavirus Response". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  6. ^ a b "2011 Annual Report" (PDF). acgusa.org. American Council on Germany. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  7. ^ "Why would a former dog breeder help oversee a pandemic response?". MSNBC.com. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
  8. ^ Slisco, Aila (April 22, 2020). "Who Is Brian Harrison? Former Labradoodle Breeder Reportedly Led HHS Response to Coronavirus". newsweek.com. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  9. ^ Rostom, Aram (April 22, 2020). "Special Report: Former Labradoodle breeder tapped to lead U.S. pandemic task force". Reuters. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  10. ^ Rappleye, Emily (June 5, 2019). "HHS chief of staff departs". Becker's Hospital Review. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  11. ^ Diamond, Dan (March 5, 2020). "White House sidelines Azar from coronavirus response". Politico. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  12. ^ Cancryn, Adam (February 12, 2021). "Top Trump health aide mulls run for Congress". Politico. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  13. ^ Steinhauser, Paul (2021-03-01). "Ex-Trump administration HHS official Brian Harrison announces run for Texas House seat". Fox News (in American English). Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  14. ^ "Trump administration official Brian Harrison jumps into race to replace Ron Wright in Congress". Dallas News. 2021-03-01. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  15. ^ Mutnick, Amy (May 2, 2021). "Dems get locked out of Texas special election". Yahoo! News. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  16. ^ a b "Texas' 6th Congressional District's election results". www.texastribune.org. Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  17. ^ Svitek, Patrick. Special election to fill former state Rep. Jake Ellzey's North Texas seat set for Aug. 31, Texas Tribune, August 6, 2021.
  18. ^ Harrison files for House District 10, Weatherford Democrat, August 14, 2021.
  19. ^ Sparks, Hayden. Brian Harrison, John Wray Head to a Runoff for Texas House Seat to Replace Congressman Jake Ellzey, The Texan, September 1, 2021.
  20. ^ Texas Secretary of State
  21. ^ "2021 Special Runoff Election House District 10". Texas Election Results. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  22. ^ 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.
  23. ^ a b c Sherman, Jake; Palmer, Anna; Ross, Garrett; Okun, Eli (April 20, 2020). "POLITICO Playbook PM: More haggling on PPP". Politico. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
Texas House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the
Texas House of Representatives
from the 10th district
2021–present 		Incumbent
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