Capitol Police Veteran Harry Dunn Announces Candidacy for Congress

U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, who became nationally known last year when he testified before a House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 events at the Capitol, said Friday that he’s running in the Democrats’ primary for Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District. 

Dunn, the latest in a growing field of candidates seeking to replace retiring Rep. John Sarbanes, D-Md., told The Hill while making his announcement that he is a “career public servant” who is running because Congress doesn’t need “career politicians.”

“I believe that my service and my willingness to stand up and fight back against the people that are in the institution now —  that are trying to erode it — I think that is one of my strong points,” he said.

The primary’s winner will be the likely favorite to win in the general election in November, given the district’s heavy Democrat leaning. 

Other candidates already in the race include state Delegates Mark Chang, Vanessa Atterbeary, Terri Hill, and Mike Rogers, along with state Sens. Sarah Elfreth and Clarence Lam. 

Dunn’s announcement comes several months after he suggested on social media that he might run. 

Last year, Dunn, testifying before lawmakers about Jan. 6, told how he saw officers from the Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Departments being attacked, and how he and other Black police officers had been attacked with racial slurs. 

He said that “the thing that happened on Jan. 6 and everything that happened after” has pushed him into running for public office. One of the phrases that I live by is, ‘Until there’s nothing that can be done, there’s always something that can be done,’ and I believe that I’ve exhausted all of my – everything that I could do as a Capitol Police officer in that role to fight for accountability, fight for justice, fight to preserve our democracy,” said Dunn. “I’ve done everything I could do as a Capitol Police officer.”

Dunn lives in Montgomery County, Maryland, which lies outside the 3rd Congressional District, but said that if he is elected he will move into the district. 

“I’ve interacted with a lot of the citizens of that district,” he told The Hill. “I spend a lot of my time in the district, I go grocery shopping, and I go to the gym there.”

Dunn added that he is “happy” about Democrats’ stances on several issues, including abortion and gun reform laws. 

“One of the things that I’m really happy about is that a lot of Democrats, including the individuals in the field, are united on is the need to preserve a woman’s choice [and] the need to expand and protect voting rights, for common sense gun reform, to make health care more affordable for the people of the state of Maryland,”  he said. “I think we’re all in agreement on that. My thought, though, is that all of those things fall under the umbrella of democracy.”

Dunn also said, while discussing Maryland’s needs, that he wants to work on issues concerning infrastructure and mental health.