Diana Harshbarger

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Diana Harshbarger
Diana Harshbarger official photo (cropped).jpg
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Tennessee's 1st district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2021
Preceded byPhil Roe
Personal details
Born (1960-01-01) January 1, 1960 (age 61)
Kingsport, Tennessee, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Robert Harshbarger
Children1
EducationEast Tennessee State University (BS)
Mercer University (PharmD)
WebsiteHouse website

Diana Lynn Harshbarger (/ˈhɑːrʃˌbɑːrɡər/ HARSH-barg-ər; born January 1, 1960)[1][2] is an American pharmacist, businesswoman, and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Tennessee's 1st congressional district. The district is based in the Tri-Cities area in northeastern Tennessee.

Early life and career[]

Harshbarger was born in Kingsport, Tennessee, and raised in nearby Bloomingdale. She is the first person in her family to graduate from high school.[3] She earned her bachelor's degree from East Tennessee State University and her Doctor of Pharmacy from Mercer University.[4]

Harshbarger has been a licensed pharmacist since 1987.[5] She and her husband, Bob, operate Premier Pharmacy, a compounding pharmacy.[6]

U.S. House of Representatives[]

Election[]

2020[]

Main article: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee § District 1

After six-term incumbent and fellow Republican Phil Roe opted to retire from the United States House of Representatives, Harshbarger announced her candidacy to succeed him in the United States House of Representatives for Tennessee's 1st congressional district.[7] She won the 17-way August 5 Republican primary and defeated Democratic nominee Blair Walsingham in the November general election.[8][9][10] She had effectively clinched a seat in Congress with her victory in the primary, since the 1st is one of the few ancestrally Republican districts in the South; it has been in Republican hands for all but four years since 1861, and Democrats have garnered as much as 40% of the vote only twice since 1898. When Harshbarger took office on January 3, 2021, she became the fifth woman elected to Congress from Tennessee, but only the third who was not a stand-in for her husband, after Diane Black and Marsha Blackburn. The 1st historically gives its incumbents very long tenures in Washington; Harshbarger is only the ninth person to hold the seat in 100 years.

Harshbarger focused her campaign on fixing the opioid crisis, advocating anti-abortion legislation, and protecting religious freedom.[11] She also highlighted American dependence on Chinese pharmaceutical imports as an issue of national security.[12] During the Republican primary, her opponents criticized her over her alleged involvement with American Inhalation Medication Specialists (AIMS), a business her husband ran that sold mislabeled pharmaceuticals from China.[12] In 2013 Robert Harshbarger pleaded guilty to fraud charges related to the company and was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison, in addition to over $800,000 in restitution and over $400,000 in asset forfeiture.[12] Harshbarger's campaign said she had no involvement with AIMS, despite corporate records to the contrary.[13]

Harshbarger declined to debate her competitors during the primary and general elections.[14]

Tenure[]

On January 6, 2021, supporters of President Donald Trump broke into the U.S. Capitol during debate. Lawmakers fled to an undisclosed location for safety. Later that evening, Harshberger joined 139 other Republican House members in voting to sustain objections to the certification of the results of the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, based on false claims of voter fraud.[15]

Committee assignments[16][]

Caucus memberships[]

  • GOP Doctors Caucus
  • Rural Broadband Caucus
  • Tennessee Valley Corridor Caucus[17]
  • Republican Study Committee[18]

Electoral history[]

2020[]

United States House of Representatives, Tennessee's 1st District Republican Primary
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Diana Harshbarger 18,074 19.2
Republican Timothy Hill 15,731 16.7
Republican Rusty Crowe 15,179 16.1
Republican Josh Gapp 13,379 14.2
Republican Steve Darden 11,647 12.4
Republican John Clark 8,826 9.4
Republican David Hawk 4,717 5.0
Republican Nichole Williams 2,803 3.0
Republican Jay Adkins 1,635 1.7
Republican Carter Quillen 853 0.9
Republican Richard Baker 298 0.3
Republican Chad Fleenor 282 0.3
Republican Phil Arlinghaus 274 0.3
Republican Robert Franklin 229 0.2
Republican Chuck Miller 189 0.2
Republican Chance Cansler 147 0.2
United States House of Representatives, Tennessee's 1st District
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Diana Harshbarger 228,181 74.7
Democratic Blair Walsingham 68,617 22.5
Independent Steve Holder 8,261 2.8
Independent Josh Berger (write-in) 4 0.0

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Bowden, John (November 30, 2020). "Rep.-elect Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.-01)". The Hill. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  2. ^ "Diana Harshbarger". Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  3. ^ Schultz, Marisa (November 24, 2020). "Rep.-elect Diana Harshbarger says Congress is no match 'for a woman who can multitask'". Foxnews. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  4. ^ Staff reports. "Harshbarger announces Congressional bid". Kingsport Times-News. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  5. ^ Houk, Robert. "Harshbarger pledges to 'put America first' in Congress". Johnson City Press. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  6. ^ Carter, Joe (July 13, 2015). "Premier Pharmacy goes To Washington!". Kingsport Times-News. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  7. ^ "'Trump conservative': Kingsport pharmacist announces Congressional run". March 12, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  8. ^ Whetstone, Tyler. "Diana Harshbarger wins GOP nomination in race to replace Rep. Phil Roe". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  9. ^ "Harshbarger wins GOP primary in open Tennessee US House race". AP NEWS. August 7, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  10. ^ Teague, Slater (November 3, 2020). "Harshbarger wins race for Rep. Phil Roe's seat". WJHL-TV. WJHL-TV. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  11. ^ Stabile, Angelica (November 9, 2020). "13 GOP women join the House, dominating congressional elections, making history". FOX News. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  12. ^ a b c Keeling, Jeff (May 13, 2020). "Candidate with ad criticizing Chinese drug manufacturing says she had no role in husband's business that misbranded Chinese drugs". WJHL. Kingsport, Tenn. Archived from the original on May 17, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  13. ^ Keeling, Jeff (July 21, 2020). "Records show Diana Harshbarger was officer, shareholder for company she claimed to have 'no role or involvement in'". WJHL. Archived from the original on August 2, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  14. ^ Perhne, Caleb (September 11, 2020). "Congressional candidate Diana Harshbarger refuses to debate opponents". WCYB. Archived from the original on November 2, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  15. ^ Yourish, Karen; Buchanan, Larry; Lu, Denise (January 7, 2021). "The 147 Republicans Who Voted to Overturn Election Results". Retrieved January 29, 2021 – via NYTimes.com.
  16. ^ "Committees and Caucuses". Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger. U.S. House Of Representatives. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  17. ^ "Committees and Caucuses | Representative Diana Harshbarger". harshbarger.house.gov. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  18. ^ "Member List". Republican Study Committee. Retrieved December 21, 2017.

External links[]

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Tennessee's 1st congressional district
2021–present 		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Marjorie Taylor Greene
 United States representatives by seniority
394th 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from ""