Brian Edward Harrison (born May 19, 1982) is an American government official who has represented the 10th district in the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

since winning a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

for the seat in 2021. He previously served as chief of staff of the

United States Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

and ran for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

in the 2021 special election for

Texas's 6th congressional district Texas's 6th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives is in an area that includes Hill County, Texas, Hill, Ellis County, Texas, Ellis, Navarro County, Texas, Navarro, Anderson County, Texas, Anderson, and Cherokee Co ...

, gaining 10.8% of the vote and placing fourth in a field of 23 candidates. The election was won by state representative Jake Ellzey. Harrison ran in and won the ensuing special election for Ellzey's state house seat on September 28, 2021.

Education

A graduate of Ovilla Christian School, Harrison earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

Career

From 2005 to 2009, Harrison held positions at the

Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

Social Security Administration The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government that administers Social Security (United ...

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

, and

Office of the Vice President of the United States The Office of the Vice President includes personnel who directly support or advise the vice president of the United States. The office is headed by the chief of staff to the vice president of the United States, currently. The office also provide ...

during the

Presidency of George W. Bush George W. Bush's tenure as the 43rd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2001, and ended on January 20, 2009. Bush, a Republican from Texas, took office following his narrow electoral college victo ...

. After leaving government service in 2009, he was the director of healthcare practice at the

DCI Group DCI Group is an American public relations, lobbying and business consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. The company was founded in 1996 as a consulting firm, and has since expanded its practice to become a public affairs company offering a ra ...

, a public affairs consulting group. In 2011, he was a delegate at the annual American-German Young Leaders Conference organized by the American Council on Germany. Harrison then worked at his father's homebuilding business, Harrison Homes. From 2012 to 2018 he owned and operated a

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, dog-breeding business called Dallas Labradoodles. During the

Presidency of Donald Trump Presidency of Donald Trump may refer to: * First presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration from 2017 to 2021 * Second presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration since 2025 See also * ...

, Harrison was appointed deputy chief of staff in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and promoted to chief of staff when his predecessor departed in June 2019. Harrison coordinated the HHS early response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

before those responsibilities were transferred to

Robert Kadlec Robert Peter Kadlec ( ) is an American physician and career officer in the United States Air Force who served as Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services (Preparedness and Response) from August 2017 until January 2021. He is responsible f ...

in February 2020. According to Harrison, he worked “closely” with Dr.

Anthony Fauci Anthony Stephen Fauci ( ; born December 24, 1940) is an American physician-scientist and immunologist who served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) from 1984 to 2022, and the chief medical ...

and was "an integral leader of the development of

Operation Warp Speed Operation Warp Speed (OWS) was a public–private partnership initiated by the United States government to facilitate and accelerate the development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics. The firs ...

." In February 2021, Harrison was reported to be exploring running for the

in after the death of incumbent Ron Wright. On March 1, 2021, Harrison officially declared his candidacy. Harrison came in fourth place in the special election with 10.81% of the vote. Two months later on August 9, 2021, Harrison announced his candidacy for the

District 10

to replace Jake Ellzey, who vacated the district seat after winning the Texas's 6th congressional district special election, the one Harrison ran for in May. The special election was held on August 31, 2021, and Harrison placed first with 41 percent of the vote with 4,613 votes and John Wray placed second with 36 percent of the vote with 4,031 votes. Harrison and Wray would later face each other in a runoff election. The runoff was held on September 28, 2021, and Harrison defeated Wray 55.38% to 44.62%.Svitek, Patrick
Brian Harrison wins Texas House seat after beating fellow Republican John Wray, who used to hold the seat
''

Texas Tribune ''The Texas Tribune'' is a nonprofit politics and public policy news website headquartered in Austin, Texas, United States. Its stated aim is to promote civic engagement through original, explanatory journalism and public events. ''The Texas Tr ...

'', September 28, 2021. Harrison supports a ban on Democrats being given committee chairmanships as long as the Republicans hold the majority of seats in the Texas House. On May 27, 2023, Harrison voted against impeaching Attorney General

Ken Paxton Warren Kenneth Paxton Jr. (born December 23, 1962) is an American politician and lawyer who has served as the attorney general of Texas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Texas Senate representing the e ...

. In May 2024, following Attorney General Ken Paxton's trial and failure to pass School Choice, Harrison helped lead the charge to replace ideologically opposed Republicans with Republicans who shared Harrison's priorities. Along with Texas Governor

Greg Abbott Gregory Wayne Abbott ( ; born November 13, 1957) is an American politician, attorney, and jurist who has served since 2015 as the 48th governor of Texas. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served from 2002 to ...

and Texas Senator

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...

they successfully replaced 15 Republican incumbents with new ideologically aligned Republicans.

Electoral history

Results

Personal life

Harrison was married to Tara Napier in 2011. She worked at the White House during the Bush administration in 2007 and at the

Office of the Secretary of Defense The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) is a headquarters-level staff of the United States Department of Defense. It is the principal civilian staff element of the U.S. Secretary of Defense, and it assists the Secretary in carrying out au ...

from 2005 to 2011 before being hired by BP as communications manager in December 2011. She became head of corporate affairs in 2019. Harrison and Napier have four children. Harrison's father, Ed Harrison, ran for

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

Texas's 24th congressional district Texas' 24th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives covers much of the suburban area in between Fort Worth and Dallas in the state of Texas and centers along the Dallas County, Texas, Dallas–Tarrant County, Texas, ...

in 1994 and 1996 against Democrat

Martin Frost Jonas Martin Frost III (born January 1, 1942) is an American politician, who was the Democratic representative to the U.S. House of Representatives for Texas's 24th congressional district from 1979 to 2005. Personal life Frost was born to a J ...

and for state Senate against Republican Kip Averitt in 2002, losing all three.Our Campaigns: Harrison, Ed
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Brian 1982 births 21st-century members of the Texas Legislature Candidates in the 2021 United States elections Dog breeders First Trump administration personnel George W. Bush administration personnel Living people Members of the Texas House of Representatives People from Ellis County, Texas Texas A&M University alumni United States Department of Health and Human Services officials