Jaime Harrison | |
|---|---|
.png) Harrison in 2019 | |
| Chair of theDemocratic National Committee | |
| In office January 21, 2021 – February 1, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Tom Perez |
| Succeeded by | Ken Martin |
| Chair of theSouth Carolina Democratic Party | |
| In office May 4, 2013 – April 29, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Dick Harpootlian |
| Succeeded by | Trav Robertson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1976-02-05)February 5, 1976 (age 49) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Marie Boyd |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Yale University (BA) Georgetown University (JD) |
| Website | Campaign website |
Jaime Ricardo Harrison (/ˈdʒeɪmi/JAY-mee; born February 5, 1976) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the chair of theDemocratic National Committee from 2021 to 2025. He was chair of theSouth Carolina Democratic Party from 2013 to 2017. Harrison ran against SenatorLindsey Graham in the2020 United States Senate election in South Carolina; he was defeated by ten points.[1][2]
Born and raised inSouth Carolina, Harrison graduated fromYale University and then headed a non-profit that assisted low income students in career readiness. He earned hisJuris Doctor degree fromGeorgetown University Law Center. Harrison worked for South Carolina CongressmanJim Clyburn and became staff director for theHouse Democratic Caucus. He then worked as alobbyist for thePodesta Group, before being selected to chair the South Carolina Democratic Party.
Following the Democratic Party's loss to the Republicans in the2024 United States presidential election, along with other defeats, Harrison announced that he would not seek a second term as chair of the party in2025.[3][4]
Harrison was born and raised inOrangeburg, South Carolina.[5] He was raised by his mother, Patricia Harrison, and his grandparents.[6] He attended a Baptist church in his youth.[7] In 1994, he was selected for theUnited States Senate Youth Program. He attendedOrangeburg-Wilkinson High School[8][5] and received a scholarship toYale University, where he majored inpolitical science.[6][5]
After graduating from Yale in 1998, Harrison worked as a teacher for a year at his former high school.[8] In 1999, he was appointed chief operating officer ofCollege Summit, a non-profit organization that helps low-income youth find a path to college and a career.[9][10] He earned hisJuris Doctor fromGeorgetown University Law Center in 2004.[11]
After leaving College Summit, Harrison became involved in politics, working forJim Clyburn as his director of floor operations while Clyburn was theMajority Whip of theUnited States House of Representatives.[12] Harrison went on to serve as executive director of theHouse Democratic Caucus and the vice chair of theSouth Carolina Democratic Party.[11] He later served as alobbyist for thePodesta Group.[6][13] His clients at the Podesta Group included banks, such asBank of America andWells Fargo,Berkshire Hathaway,[14] pharmaceutical companies,[15] casinos, theAmerican Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, andWalmart,[16] among others.[17] In addition to lobbying work at Podesta Group, he has also lobbied on behalf ofUnited Way Worldwide and theAssociation of Public and Land-grant Universities.[8]
In May 2013, Harrison became the chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party. He is the first African American to have served in this role.[6][18]
In 2018, Harrison published the bookClimbing the Hill: How to Build a Career in Politics and Make a Difference, with journalist Amos Snead.[19]
Harrison declared his candidacy for chairperson of theDemocratic National Committee (DNC) in theFebruary 2017 election.[20][21] He defended his eight-year record at the Podesta Group, saying, "It's how I pay back the $160,000 of student loan debt."[22] Harrison ended his bid for DNC chair on February 23, 2017, and endorsedTom Perez.[23]
Harrison accepted a position as associate chairman and counselor of the DNC, where he implemented a program called "Every ZIP Code Counts." The program supplied each state party with $10,000 per month so long as the state party did an analysis of its strengths and weaknesses for its internal operations.[24]
Following PresidentJoe Biden's victory in the2020 presidential election, Harrison was nominated by Biden to be the chair of the DNC, succeedingTom Perez.[25] DNC members elected him on January 21, 2021.[26]
After the loss of Vice President and Democratic nomineeKamala Harris and running mate Minnesota GovernorTim Walz in the2024 United States presidential election, news outlets reported that Harrison did not plan to run for another term for DNC Chair in 2025. During Harrison's tenure as chair of the DNC, the Democratic Party had a net loss of three seats in theUnited States Senate (out of 100), seven seats in theHouse of Representatives (out of 435), and thepresidency. The congressional losses were modest, but Democrats were voted out after just one presidential term.[3][27][28]
Harrison filed paperwork on February 7, 2019, to challenge SenatorLindsey Graham by running for his seat in the U.S. Senate in the 2020 election. No Democrat has won a statewide election in South Carolina since 2006.[29] Harrison launched his campaign on May 29, 2019.[2] Economist and DemocratGloria Bromell Tinubu announced her run for the seat in May 2019. In January 2020, Tinubu dropped out of the race, endorsing Harrison.[30] With Harrison unopposed, the Democratic primary for US Senate was cancelled, and he became the Democratic nominee on June 9, 2020.[31]
Harrison and Graham participated in a debate with no audience (due to the COVID-19 pandemic) that was hosted byAllen University on October 3, 2020.[32] A debate originally scheduled for October 9 was changed to feature separate, televised interviews after Graham refused to be tested forCOVID-19 preceding the scheduled debate.[33]
In the third quarter of 2020, Harrison raised $57 million, the largest quarterly total by a U.S. Senate candidate ever, breakingBeto O'Rourke's record in the2018 Texas Senate election.[34] He also raised the most ever by a U.S. Senate candidate, beating another record set by O'Rourke.[35]
Harrison called forexpansion of Medicaid[5] and expanded coronavirus relief.[5] During the 2020 Senate election, Harrison criticized Graham for attempting to repeal the Affordable Care Act.[36] Harrison also supports thelegalization of cannabis.[37]
Harrison lost the election to Graham by over ten percentage points, garnering 44.2% of the vote compared to Graham's 54.5%.[38] The day after the election, Niall Stanage ofThe Hill stated that Harrison ran a spirited challenge but in the end, Graham "prevailed easily".[39]
Harrison broke U.S. Senate campaign fundraising records by raising $109 million.[40][41][42][43][44] His campaign was also the topic of the 2024 documentaryIn the Bubble with Jaime.[45]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Lindsey Graham (incumbent) | 1,369,137 | 54.44% | +0.17% | |
| Democratic | Jaime Harrison | 1,110,828 | 44.17% | +5.39% | |
| Constitution | Bill Bledsoe | 32,845 | 1.30% | N/A | |
| Write-in | 2,294 | 0.09% | -0.29% | ||
| Total votes | 2,515,104 | 100.00% | |||
| Republicanhold | Swing | ||||
Despite their political rivalry, Harrison is friends withMatt Moore, a former chairman of theSouth Carolina Republican Party. The two co-taught a course at theUniversity of South Carolina during the fall semester of 2015.[46]
Harrison met his wife, Marie Boyd, when they worked in Washington, D.C., shortly after the2008 United States presidential election. She is a law professor at theUniversity of South Carolina School of Law.[47] They live inColumbia, South Carolina with their two sons.[12][48]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Dick Harpootlian | Chair of theSouth Carolina Democratic Party 2013–2017 | Succeeded by Trav Robertson |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromSouth Carolina (Class 2) 2020 | Most recent |
| Preceded by | Chair of theDemocratic National Committee 2021–2025 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
