Mark Harris | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNorth Carolina's8th district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Dan Bishop |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mark Everette Harris (1966-04-24)April 24, 1966 (age 59) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Beth Harris |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Appalachian State University (BA) Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (MDiv,DMin) |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Mark Everette Harris[1] (born April 24, 1966) is an AmericanBaptist pastor and politician fromNorth Carolina. A member of theRepublican Party, he is theU.S. representative forNorth Carolina's 8th congressional district since 2025.[2]
Harris first ran for theUnited States Senate in2014, placing third in the Republican primary. He then ran to representNorth Carolina's 9th congressional district in theUnited States House of Representatives in the2016 election, but he was defeated in the Republicanprimary by incumbentRobert Pittenger.
Harris ran for the 9th district again in2018, narrowly defeating Pittenger in the Republican primary. In thegeneral election againstDemocratic opponentDan McCready, initial tallies appeared to show Harris winning the election, but an election panel declined to certify these results following allegations of ballot fraud involvingMcCrae Dowless, a Republican political operative employed by the Harris campaign. Dowless was later criminally charged in connection with the alleged fraud, but Harris was not charged. In February 2019, the bipartisan North Carolina Board of Elections dismissed the results of the election and called fora new election to be held. Harris was not a candidate in the new election, which was won by fellow RepublicanDan Bishop.
Harris then announced his bid for the 8th district in 2024, following Bishop's decision to retire and instead run forAttorney General. After defeating five opponents to win the Republican nomination, Harris went on to winthe general election in what was described by multiple outlets as a comeback bid.[3][4]
Harris was born inWinston-Salem, North Carolina, on April 24, 1966.[5] He attended local schools there, graduating fromRichard J. Reynolds High School,[6] before earning hisbachelor's degree in political science fromAppalachian State University. He earned both aMaster of Divinity (M.Div.) andDoctor of Ministry (D.Min.) fromSoutheastern Baptist Theological Seminary.[7]
Harris is the lead pastor at Trinity Baptist Church inMooresville, North Carolina.[8] He has served as the senior pastor of the First Baptist Church inCharlotte, North Carolina,[9] and as president of theBaptist State Convention of North Carolina.[10] He served as senior ofAugusta, Georgia's Curtis Baptist Church from January 1, 2000 to July 2005.[11] He began preaching atMooresville, North Carolina's Trinity Baptist Church in February 2020.[12]
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Harris ran for theUnited States Senate in the2014 election, finishing in third place in the Republican primary behindThom Tillis andGreg Brannon.[7]
He later ran againstincumbent congressmanRobert Pittenger forNorth Carolina's 9th congressional district in theUnited States House of Representatives in the2016 election. The election went to a recount, with Pittenger certified the winner by 134 votes.[13]
Harris resigned from the First Baptist Church in 2017[14] and ran again for theU.S. House in 2018.[15] This time, Harris defeated Pittenger in the Republican primary (which featured a higher turnout than the 2016 primary).[16] After the November 6, 2018 general election, Harris was 905 votes ahead of his Democratic competitor,Dan McCready. McCready conceded on the day after the election, but the state Democratic Party filed affidavits alleging that the Harris campaign had engaged in ballot fraud.[17][18][19] The North Carolina Board of Elections voted 9–0 on November 27 not to certify the election.[20] The board held hearings from February 18 to February 21, 2019.[21] Harris later acknowledged that some of his testimony had been inaccurate, blaming his health problems as an explanation for his erroneous testimony.[22][23] On February 21, the Board of Elections unanimously voted to order that a new election be held in the congressional race.[24] On February 26, 2019, citing ill health, Harris declared that he would not compete in the new election.[25] Following an investigation, the Board ordered that a new election be held.[24] Harris was not a candidate in the new election.[25]
In September 2023, Harris announced that he would run for the House of Representatives inNorth Carolina's 8th district, as incumbentDan Bishop chose to run forattorney general of North Carolina.[26] Harris won the nomination on March 5 against five other opponents, garnering just over 30% of the vote and thus avoiding a runoff against runner-up Allan Baucom.[2] Harris won the November election, defeating Democratic nominee Justin Dues by around 19 points.[27]
Rep. Harris was sworn in to the119th United States Congress on January 3, 2025.
In 2014, Harris called for abolishing theU.S. Department of Education.[28]
Harris has stated that he would support aBalanced Budget Amendment and cited concern over what was at the time $19 trillion in debt and $120 trillion in unfunded liabilities.[29]
In 2014, Harris supported reformingSocial Security, including reducing the future Social Security payments for those who were currently less than 50 years old.[30]
Harris has describedIslam as "dangerous" and the work of Satan. In 2014, he claimed that Islam was taking over the world, including the United States.[31] According toMedia Matters, Harris signed a statement which declared that "terrorist entities are not aberrations of Islam, they are the very essence of it."[32]
In 2011, Harris said in a sermon at First Baptist Charlotte that there would never be peace between Jews and Muslims unless they convert to Christianity.[31]
During the 2018 campaign,American Bridge 21st Century, aDemocratic super PAC that conductsopposition research, brought attention to a 2013 sermon that Harris had given where he questioned whether it was the "healthiest pursuit" for women to prioritize their careers and independence over their biblical "core calling".[33]
Harris is a believer inYoung Earth creationism.[34]
Harris opposed theSupreme Court's ruling inRoe v. Wade which prohibited bans on abortion.[33] He has stated that theAffordable Care Act has made healthcare more costly for businesses.[29]
Harris has called upon wives to be submissive to their husbands and has said he believeshomosexuality is a choice.[35] At a rally in 2015, Harris criticized "moral decay" in the United States, saying "We have watched in one generation where homosexuality was once criminalized to now we see the criminalization of Christianity."[36] Harris led supporters ofNorth Carolina Amendment 1, which bannedsame-sex marriage in North Carolina in 2012.[37][38] The amendment was found to be unconstitutional by a federal court in 2014, and prohibitions on same-sex marriage were found to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court'sObergefell v. Hodges decision in 2015. After the Supreme Court ruling, Harris said, "one of the most devastating blows to the American way of life has been the breakdown of the family unit. A marriage consists of one man and one woman. The Supreme Court, in a 5–4 decision, decided otherwise."[33]
Harris campaigned for thePublic Facilities Privacy & Security Act (commonly known as the "bathroom bill") in North Carolina in 2016, which stated that in government buildings, individuals (such as students at state-operated schools) may only use restrooms and changing facilities that correspond to the sex identified on their birth certificate. The bill sparked a widespread backlash and boycott, including by major U.S. firms. Amid the backlash, Harris adamantly argued against repealing the bill.[33] The bill was eventually repealed and replaced withHouse Bill 142 on March 30, 2017.[39]
Prior to his election to congress, Harris organized a church grassroots operation on behalf of thesocial conservativeevangelicalFamily Research Council.[40] Harris has promoted Family Research Council material that endorsedconversion therapy for gays and lesbians.[34]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Thom Tillis | 223,174 | 45.68% | |
| Republican | Greg Brannon | 132,630 | 27.15% | |
| Republican | Mark Harris | 85,727 | 17.55% | |
| Republican | Heather Grant | 22,971 | 4.70% | |
| Republican | Jim Snyder | 9,414 | 1.93% | |
| Republican | Ted Alexander | 9,258 | 1.89% | |
| Republican | Alex Lee Bradshaw | 3,528 | 0.72% | |
| Republican | Edward Kryn | 1,853 | 0.38% | |
| Total votes | 488,555 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Robert Pittenger (incumbent) | 9,299 | 35.0 | |
| Republican | Mark Harris | 9,165 | 34.4 | |
| Republican | Todd Johnson | 8,142 | 30.6 | |
| Total votes | 26,606 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mark Harris | 17,302 | 48.5 | |
| Republican | Robert Pittenger (incumbent) | 16,474 | 46.2 | |
| Republican | Clarence Goins | 1,867 | 5.2 | |
| Total votes | 35,643 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mark Harris | 139,246 | 49.25 | |
| Democratic | Dan McCready | 138,341 | 48.93 | |
| Libertarian | Jeff Scott | 5,130 | 1.81 | |
| Total votes | 282,717 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mark Harris | 24,764 | 30.4 | |
| Republican | Allan Baucom | 21,964 | 27.0 | |
| Republican | John Bradford | 14,458 | 17.8 | |
| Republican | Don Brown | 8,519 | 10.5 | |
| Republican | Leigh Brown | 7,845 | 9.6 | |
| Republican | Chris Maples | 3,787 | 4.6 | |
| Total votes | 81,337 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mark Harris | 238,625 | 59.6% | |
| Democratic | Justin Dues | 161,704 | 40.4% | |
| Total votes | 400,329 | 100.0% | ||
Harris and his wife Beth have three children and ten grandchildren.[7]
In January 2019, Harris was reported to have set off a fire alarm when leaving a building, allegedly to avoid news media. Harris explained his actions by stating that he was rushing to catch a sports game.[44][45][46]
primaryresults was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNorth Carolina's 8th congressional district 2025–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 396th | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
