Diana Harshbarger

Current office and 2026 campaign

Diana Harshbarger is a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing Tennessee's 1st Congressional District ¹. She assumed office on January 3, 2021, and her current term ends on January 3, 2027 ¹. As of May 2026, she is serving in the 119th Congress ⁵.

Harshbarger has declared candidacy for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Tennessee's 1st Congressional District ¹. She is running in the Republican primary scheduled for August 6, 2026 ¹. The general election for this seat is set for November 3, 2026 ¹¹.

Background and education

Diana Lynn Harshbarger was born on January 1, 1960, in Bloomingdale, a small community near Kingsport, Tennessee ¹¹⁰¹². She is a native East Tennessean and identifies as Baptist ¹³. Her parents did not have the opportunity to graduate from high school, but Harshbarger became the first person in her immediate family to earn both a high school diploma and a college degree ⁷¹².

Harshbarger completed her undergraduate studies at East Tennessee State University ¹⁷¹². She subsequently attended Mercer University College of Pharmacy, where she earned a Doctor of Pharmacy degree between 1983 and 1987 ¹³.

Career

Diana Harshbarger was born in Bloomingdale, Tennessee, and resides in Kingsport ¹. She is the first in her immediate family to graduate from high school and college ⁷. Harshbarger earned an undergraduate degree from East Tennessee State University before graduating from Mercer University College of Pharmacy with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree ¹.

Following her graduation, Harshbarger returned to Tennessee to start a business and raise her family ⁷. She has been a licensed pharmacist for over three decades ¹⁶. Her professional experience includes working in hospital settings, retail chains, and owning pharmacies ⁹. She self-describes as having extensive experience in the pharmacy industry, noting that she has worked in various capacities within the field ⁹.

Office history

Diana Harshbarger has held only one elected office to date. She was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2020, winning the Republican primary on August 6, 2020, by defeating fifteen other candidates ². She subsequently won the general election on November 3, 2020, and assumed office on January 3, 2021, representing Tennessee's 1st Congressional District ¹⁴. Her initial two-year term concluded on January 3, 2023.

Harshbarger was re-elected to a second term in the 2022 general election, which began on January 3, 2023 ¹. She is currently serving her third term, which started on January 3, 2025, and is scheduled to end on January 3, 2027 ⁵¹⁵. As a member of the House, she serves on the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Homeland Security ¹⁶. Her responsibilities include representing the district, which comprises all of Carter, Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi, Washington, and Sevier counties, along with parts of Jefferson County ¹⁷.

Harshbarger has not lost any prior elections for public office. She is currently running for re-election in the 2026 Republican primary scheduled for August 6, 2026, but the outcome of this future race is unknown ¹¹¹.

Legislative record and accomplishments

Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger serves on the House Education and Labor Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee ¹⁶. Her legislative activity in the 119th Congress includes voting against S.4465, which sought to extend authorities under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 ⁶. Conversely, she voted in favor of H.R.7567, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act, describing it as comprehensive legislation addressing agriculture, rural communities, and food security ⁸. She also supported S. Con. Res. 33, the fiscal year 2026 budget resolution, which she stated would lay the foundation to fully fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) ⁸.

In other legislative actions, Harshbarger voted against H.R.6703, the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act, a vote that critics argued promoted substandard health coverage as a substitute for Affordable Care Act tax credits ¹⁸. She also voted against H.R.2550, the Protecting America's Workforce Act, which aimed to restore collective bargaining rights for federal workers ¹⁸. Her voting record on these issues has been characterized by the AFL-CIO as incorrect regarding working people’s interests ¹⁸.

Documented disputes and controversies

In November 2025, President Donald Trump issued a pardon to Robert Harshbarger Jr., the husband of Diana Harshbarger, who had pleaded guilty in 2013 to health care fraud and other crimes ¹⁴. The federal case involved allegations that he substituted a cheaper drug imported from China for iron sucrose approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for kidney dialysis patients ¹⁴. Robert Harshbarger Jr. served four years in prison prior to the pardon ¹⁴.

In August 2020, Harshbarger won the Republican primary for Tennessee's 1st Congressional District with 19.2% of the vote in a 16-candidate field ². She defeated other notable candidates including Timothy Hill (16.8%), Rusty Crowe (16.1%), Josh Gapp (14.2%), and Steve Darden (12.4%) ². The primary was an open election held on August 6, 2020, following the retirement of incumbent Phil Roe ³. Harshbarger subsequently won the general election in November 2020 to assume office on January 3, 2021 ⁴.

Harshbarger has been assigned to the House Education and Labor Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee during her tenure in the 119th Congress ⁵¹⁶. Her legislative record includes voting against H.R. 6703, the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act, and H.R. 2550, the Protecting America's Workforce Act, both of which were rated negatively by the AFL-CIO in December 2025 ¹⁸. She voted in favor of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 (H.R. 7567) and S. Con. Res. 33, the FY26 budget resolution, which she stated would help fully fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection ⁸.

Business interests and wealth source

Diana Harshbarger is a pharmacist and businesswoman who has been licensed and owned businesses for over three decades ¹⁶. After graduating from Mercer University College of Pharmacy with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree, she returned to Kingsport, Tennessee, to start a business and raise her family ⁷¹². She self-describes as having worked in hospitals, retail chains, and owning her own pharmacy ⁹.

Harshbarger’s husband, Robert Harshbarger Jr., was a licensed pharmacist who pleaded guilty to health care fraud and other crimes in 2013 for substituting an unapproved imported drug for kidney dialysis patients ¹⁴. He served four years in federal prison before receiving a presidential pardon in 2025 ¹⁴.

Specific details regarding Harshbarger’s personal wealth, ownership stakes, or sales of businesses are not provided in the available sources.

Family

Diana Harshbarger is married to Bob Harshbarger ¹⁰. Her husband was pardoned by President Donald Trump in November 2025 after serving a four-year federal prison sentence for health care fraud committed in 2013 ¹⁴. The couple has one son, Bobby ¹⁰¹³.

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