After six-term incumbent and fellow Republican Phil Roe opted to retire from the United States House of Representatives, Harshbarger announced her candidacy to succeed him in the United States House of Representatives for Tennessee's 1st congressional district.[8] She won the 17-way August 5 Republican primary and defeated Democratic nominee Blair Walsingham in the November general election.[9][10][11] She had effectively clinched a seat in Congress with her victory in the primary, since the 1st is one of the few ancestrally Republican districts in the South; it has been in Republican hands for all but four years since 1861, and Democrats have garnered as much as 40% of the vote only twice since 1898. When Harshbarger took office on January 3, 2021, she became the fifth woman elected to Congress from Tennessee, but only the third who was not a stand-in for her husband, after Diane Black and Marsha Blackburn. The 1st historically gives its incumbents very long tenures in Washington; Harshbarger is only the ninth person to hold the seat in 100 years.
Harshbarger focused her campaign on fixing the opioid crisis, advocating anti-abortion legislation, and protecting religious freedom.[12] She also highlighted American dependence on Chinese pharmaceutical imports as an issue of national security.[13] During the Republican primary, her opponents criticized her over her alleged involvement with American Inhalation Medication Specialists (AIMS), a business her husband ran that sold mislabeled pharmaceuticals from China.[13] In 2013 Robert Harshbarger pleaded guilty to fraud charges related to the company and was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison, in addition to over $800,000 in restitution and over $400,000 in asset forfeiture.[13] Harshbarger's campaign said she had no involvement with AIMS, despite corporate records to the contrary.[14]
Harshbarger declined to debate her competitors during the primary and general elections.[15]
Tenure
On January 6, 2021, supporters of President Donald Trumpstormed the U.S. Capitol during debate. Lawmakers fled to an undisclosed location for safety. Later that evening, Harshbarger joined 139 other Republican House members in voting to sustain objections to the certification of the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, based on claims of voter fraud.[16]
In 2024, Harshbarger voted against the $60 billion military aid package for Ukraine, although much of the money would go to her constituency.[25]
In 2024, Harshbarger spoke against expanded coverage of anti-obesity drugs for Medicaid and Medicare recipients. She said, "Obesity is not a disease. It’s a side effect of different things, like unhealthy eating or whatever. So no, I’m not in favor of that, because it’s going to put us in dire straits and run us out of money."[26]
Harshbarger is a Baptist.[33] Her husband pleaded guilty to federal charges of distributing misbranded drugs from China to kidney-dialysis patients; he was sentenced to 4 years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $848,504 and a $25,000 criminal fine, in addition to forfeiting $425,000 in cash.[34] Her only son, Bobby Harshbarger, is currently the Republican state Senator-elect for Tennessee's 4th Senate district.
On July 30, 2024, her husband was issued a summons by the Sullivan County judicial commissioner after he was found trying to remove campaign signs from state Senator Jon Lundberg, their son's primary opponent.[35] On August 29, all charges against him were dismissed.[36][37]
