Political newcomer in mostly rural congressional district in Maryland is running as a reasonable-regulations Democrat

Dave Harden (New York Times photo by Matt Roth)

Social and cultural issues have been cited as the main reasons rural voters have shifted Republican, but in some places government regulations on business play a role, too. One of those places is eastern Maryland, where former Foreign Service officer Dave Harden is running for Congress as a reasonable-regulations Democrat.

“The regulations in rural economies are ridiculous,” Harden told Farah Stockman of The New York Times editorial board, who writes: "Democrats have to find a way to reconnect with rural America, Mr. Harden told me. Frank talk about regulations is a good place to start. . . . Nitpicky government rules remain a potent and underappreciated source of populist anger against Democrats, especially in rural areas."

Stockman says voters ask Harden, "Why are wineries in Maryland limited to serving only 13 kinds of food? Why does a woman who sells her grandmother’s cobbler have to cough up tens of thousands of dollars to build a commercial kitchen? Why does a federal inspector have to be on hand to watch wild catfish get gutted — but not other kinds of seafood? The short answer is that restaurant associations tend to wield more political clout than wineries, and catfish farmers in Mississippi are more powerful than seafood harvesters in Maryland. Big businesses can afford to hire lawyers to help them cut through red tape and lobbyists to bend government rules to their will. Small businesses, especially in rural places, get slammed."

Stockman cites polls showing that Democrats and Republicans had similar views on government regulation of business in 2006, "but the percentage of Republicans who felt [regulation was too heavy] climbed steadily under President Barack Obama, who enacted more economically significant rules than his predecessors. By the end of his first term, 84 percent of Republicans thought that government meddled too much in business, while only 22 percent of Democrats agreed, according to Gallup. Democrats were more likely to say that the government doesn’t regulate businesses enough. With business owners more likely to be Republicans and government workers more likely to be Democrats, you have the makings of a yawning partisan divide."

Wikipedia map, adapted by The Rural Blog

Joshua Sewell of Taxpayers for Common Sense "said misleading rumors that the Environmental Protection Agency planned to regulate farm dust or that President Biden’s Build Back Better plan would have taxed belching cows played right into the stereotype of Democrats as city folk who were infuriatingly eager to regulate almost anything in rural America."

Enter Harden, who "He hopes to replace Andy Harris, the sole Republican in Maryland’s congressional delegation" and is in a July 19 primary with "Heather Mizeur, a progressive herb farmer who once represented Montgomery County, a much more urban area, in the state legislature," Stickman reports. "Mizeur has more money and name recognition than Mr. Harden, but he believes he has a chance because she seems out of step with the conservative district, which is considered a safe Republican seat. . . . Harden is trying to walk a difficult line, appealing to voters who are angry about government overreach without turning off the Democratic base."