Democratic Candidate for Maryland US Congress District 1
Vote Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Dan Schwartz
Dan Schwartz is the Democratic nominee for Maryland's 1st Congressional District — a Bellevue father of two running to be the Eastern Shore's voice against longtime incumbent Andy Harris. A lifelong Democrat and career consumer watchdog, Dan got his start after the 2008 financial crisis. For more than 14 years he has worked with state banking regulators across the country and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — including a decade at the Conference of State Bank Supervisors — helping regulators navigate Congress, the Treasury, and federal agencies, and pursuing enforcement against shady actors in the payments industry, including crypto. He left his job in April 2026 to run full-time. Dan is running on a simple promise: the First District comes first. He has pledged monthly town halls — a sharp contrast with Harris, who has gone years without facing constituents — and to ban members of Congress from trading stocks and crypto. He opposes the tariffs and spending freezes that raise costs for Maryland families, supports raising the federal minimum wage, and will defend Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP, and long-term care: one in four residents of MD-1 relies on Medicaid, half of them children. It's personal: his wife, Megan, is a family nurse practitioner in Dorchester County, in a district Dan calls a "health care desert," and he has watched insurers deny coverage for care patients desperately need. He has been endorsed by Gov. Wes Moore, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, and Rep. Jamie Raskin.
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