The race for the U.S. House seat in District 3 — a longtime Democratic stronghold — has been relatively quiet, but the Republican challenger said he hopes his conservative values are right for residents.
Thomas E. “Pinkston” Harris, 56, of Baltimore City, won the Republican primary in February with about 39 percent of the vote and faces incumbent U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes, 47, who’s been in office since 2007.
“My strategy is to be myself, and that means being conservative,” said Harris, a special education teacher at Sinclair Lane Elementary School in Baltimore City.
His candidacy will center around:
- Stressing sound economic practices;
- Becoming self-sufficient with energy;
- Promoting traditional family values;
- Providing children with solid role models.
“You don’t see any pictures of [Supreme Court Justice] Clarence Thomas in our schools today, and that upsets me very, very much,” said the father of two grown children.
“Without him and Condoleezza Rice, you wouldn’t have any [Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack] Obama today.”
A native of Ramer, Ala., a tiny town south of Montgomery, Harris said he was born in a shack in the woods without plumbing and electricity where the only transportation was a wagon.
“When you’re out there in the woods, you become self-sufficient,” he said. “We didn’t trust the government.”
Harris has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Delaware State University and a master’s in rehabilitative counseling from Coppin State University. He’s now working toward his master’s in business administration at Johns Hopkins University.
Still hoping his candidacy spreads by word of mouth, Harris has given some speeches at private clubs throughout Anne Arundel County and even debated Sarbanes earlier this month. Another forum is planned Oct. 7 in Columbia.
“I feel very good about where things are, but never take anything for granted,” said Sarbanes, who won a landslide victory over Democratic challenger John Rea, of Annapolis, in the primary by a margin of 89 percent to about 11 percent.
“If you listen to the constituents, they’ll put you in the right direction.”
Topping his pursuits include fixing the economy, like Harris, universal health care and a timely withdrawal from Iraq.
Some Republicans, though, say Harris has a long road ahead of him. In the primary, 26,596 residents voted for a Republican candidate, while 97,212 voted for a Democratic candidate.
“District 3 has solidly for probably 120 years been a Democratic seat,” said Chris Panasuk, of Glen Burnie, one of Harris’ three challengers in the primary. “This is one where Republicans don’t even came out to vote.”
- District 3 consists of parts of Baltimore, Howard and Anne Arundel counties, as well as a significant part of Baltimore City.
- The district is overwhelmingly urban and middle- to upper-middle class.
