Jake Day, the secretary at the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, is beginning to raise money for a possible challenge to U.S. Rep. Andy Harris (R-1st), Maryland Matters has learned.
At the urging of leading Democrats, Day, a former mayor of Salisbury and one of the most high-profile members of Gov. Wes Moore’s Cabinet, has set up an exploratory campaign committee under the Federal Election Commission’s “testing the waters” guidelines for candidates. He is soliciting donations to pay for a poll to gauge his strength in a hypothetical general election against Harris, the lone Republican in the state’s congressional delegation.
Day has hired Adeo Advocacy, a powerhouse Baltimore-based fundraising firm that works for Moore and other leading Maryland Democrats, and is expected to engage a pollster soon, several Democrats said.
In a brief interview Wednesday evening, Day confirmed the exploratory effort but was otherwise circumspect.
“I’m flattered that people are interested in this,” he said. “I’ve heard a lot of messages of support over the past few weeks. I’m focused on my day job and time will tell on everything else.”
WBOC-TV in Salisbury first reported the existence of the exploratory effort three weeks ago, but the full extent of Day’s political activities ahead of a potential congressional bid have not previously been publicly known.
Maryland Democrats have long dreamed of knocking off Harris, the chair of the arch-conservative House Freedom Caucus on Capitol Hill who is serving his eighth term. But under the gerrymandered congressional district lines fashioned by Democrats in the General Assembly, the 1st District, which includes the Eastern Shore, Harford County and a slice of Baltimore County, is overwhelmingly Republican. Even highly touted Democratic challengers like former state delegate and ex-gubernatorial candidate Heather Mizeur have fallen far short of defeating Harris over the years.
Harris won reelection last fall by 22 points over Democrat Blaine Miller III, at the same time President Trump was carrying the district by almost 17 points. Harris reported having $884,283 in his campaign account as of March 31, according to his latest report with the FEC.
But hope springs eternal for the Democrats, who believe Trump’s current polling slump and Americans’ plunging confidence in the U.S. economy could provide rare opportunities for the party in the 2026 midterm elections. At a minimum, Day’s potential candidacy could bolster Moore’s reelection efforts next year — particularly if he faces a tough challenge from former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) — by engaging Democrats in a congressional district that the party does not often prioritize.
Day, a 42-year-old Army veteran, has long been considered a rising star in Maryland politics — and perhaps one of the few Democrats who could give Harris a tough race in the 1st District. He served on the Salisbury City Council from 2013 to 2015 and as mayor from 2015 to 2023. But it is often difficult for ambitious and accomplished Eastern Shore Democrats to progress far politically given the region’s conservative lean.
Adam Wood, executive director of the Maryland Republican Party — whose chair is Harris’ wife, Nicole Beus Harris — referred questions about the congressman’s reelection to the Harris campaign.
In a statement provided Wednesday night, the campaign quoted Harris saying he is “concentrating on delivering results and tax cuts with President Trump for people of the First Congressional District — not on a candidate who raised taxes three times in his political career and works for a governor who imposed $1.5 billion in new taxes and fees on hardworking Marylanders this year.”
Day endorsed Hogan for reelection, rather than the Democratic challenger, Ben Jealous, in 2018. At the time, he argued that Hogan would be a more effective partner for the city than Jealous, though there was undoubtedly a political element to the endorsement as well.
Municipal elections in Salisbury are nonpartisan affairs.
Day also endorsed then-Comptroller Peter Franchot over Moore in the 2022 Democratic gubernatorial primary, citing his longstanding ties to Franchot and his top advisers. But as telegenic, energetic military veterans, Day and Moore have quickly bonded, and Moore has made housing affordability and availability a top priority, elevating Day’s role in the administration.
Day has created a fundraising entity through the IRS. If he chooses to run for Congress, he’ll have to set up another campaign committee with the FEC, and any contributions for his exploratory effort will then be made public. Individual donations for the Democratic primary are capped at $3,500.
But if Day does not go ahead with a congressional bid, the donations to his exploratory committee will not be disclosed.
– This story was updated on Thursday, May 1, to include comment from the Harris campaign.
By Josh Kurtz
