Diana Harshbarger

Diana Harshbarger
Official portrait, 2021
Diana Harshbarger
Born	Diana Lynn Harshbarger 1 1, 1960
Birthplace	Kingsport, Tennessee, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Pharmacist, businesswoman, politician
Title	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 1st congressional district
Known for	U.S. Representative for Tennessee's 1st congressional district
Education	East Tennessee State University (BS) Mercer University (PharmD)
Spouse(s)	Bob Harshbarger
Children	1
Website	[harshbarger.house.gov Official site]

Diana Lynn Harshbarger (born January 1, 1960) is an American pharmacist, businesswoman, and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Tennessee's 1st congressional district since January 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Harshbarger built a career in pharmaceutical sciences and business ownership in the Tri-Cities region of northeastern Tennessee before entering electoral politics. She won the Republican primary in a crowded 2020 field to succeed retiring Representative Phil Roe, and went on to win the general election in the heavily Republican district. In Congress, Harshbarger has aligned herself as a strong supporter of former and current President Donald Trump and is a member of the Freedom Caucus and the Republican Study Committee. She is the only woman in Tennessee's U.S. House delegation. Harshbarger has won reelection in 2022 and 2024, establishing herself as a prominent conservative voice from the Appalachian region of Tennessee.

Early Life

Diana Lynn Harshbarger was born on January 1, 1960, in Kingsport, Tennessee, a city in the northeastern corner of the state that forms part of the Tri-Cities metropolitan area along with Johnson City and Bristol. She grew up in the region, which is characterized by its Appalachian heritage, strong manufacturing base, and historically conservative political leanings. Kingsport, in particular, has long been associated with the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, with major employers like Eastman Chemical Company headquartered there.

Harshbarger's roots in northeastern Tennessee would prove foundational to both her professional career and her eventual political identity. The Tri-Cities area, situated in Sullivan, Washington, and Carter counties, among others, has been represented by Republicans in Congress for generations, reflecting the region's Unionist heritage dating back to the Civil War and its consistently conservative voting patterns in the modern era.

Details about Harshbarger's parents and family background during her upbringing have not been extensively documented in available public sources. What is clear from the public record is that she remained deeply connected to the Kingsport area throughout her life, eventually building her professional career and business enterprises in the same community where she was raised.

Education

Harshbarger pursued her higher education with a focus on pharmaceutical sciences. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from East Tennessee State University (ETSU), a public university located in Johnson City, Tennessee, within the same Tri-Cities region where she grew up. ETSU is one of the primary institutions of higher learning in northeastern Tennessee and has long served as an educational anchor for the surrounding Appalachian communities.

Harshbarger subsequently earned her Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree from Mercer University, a private university headquartered in Macon, Georgia, which operates one of the state of Georgia's prominent pharmacy programs through its College of Pharmacy. The PharmD is the terminal professional degree required for the practice of pharmacy in the United States. This advanced training equipped Harshbarger with the credentials to practice as a licensed pharmacist and, eventually, to own and operate her own pharmacy business in Tennessee.

Her dual educational background — rooted in a regional public university and culminating in a professional doctoral degree from a respected private institution — provided the foundation for what would become a decades-long career in pharmaceutical practice and business ownership before her transition to politics.

Career

Pharmaceutical Career and Business

After completing her pharmacy education, Harshbarger built a career in the pharmaceutical industry in northeastern Tennessee. She became the owner and operator of a pharmacy business in the Kingsport area, establishing herself as a businesswoman in the healthcare sector. Her pharmacy practice operated for a number of years in the Tri-Cities region, and her experience as a small business owner in the healthcare field became a central element of her professional identity and, later, her political platform.

Harshbarger's background as a pharmacist gave her direct experience with issues related to drug pricing, pharmaceutical regulation, healthcare delivery in rural and small-town settings, and the operational challenges facing independent pharmacy owners. These experiences would later inform her policy positions in Congress, particularly on matters related to healthcare and drug manufacturing.

During her 2020 congressional campaign, Harshbarger ran advertisements criticizing Chinese drug manufacturing practices. However, questions arose about her husband Bob Harshbarger's business dealings, with reports indicating that his business had been involved in misbranding drugs manufactured in China. Harshbarger stated that she had no role in her husband's business operations. This issue drew media attention during the primary campaign but did not ultimately prevent her from winning the nomination or the general election.

2020 Congressional Campaign

Harshbarger entered the political arena in 2019 when she announced her candidacy for Tennessee's 1st congressional district seat in the United States House of Representatives. The seat had been held by Republican Phil Roe since 2009. When Roe announced he would not seek reelection, the open seat attracted a large field of Republican candidates in the heavily conservative district.

Tennessee's 1st congressional district encompasses the northeastern portion of the state, including the Tri-Cities metropolitan area and surrounding rural counties. The district is one of the most historically Republican congressional districts in the nation, having been represented continuously by Republicans since the post-Civil War era. Given the district's strong Republican lean, the Republican primary was widely understood to be the decisive election.

From the outset of her campaign, Harshbarger positioned herself as a strong supporter of President Donald Trump and his policy agenda. She described herself as a "Trump conservative" and emphasized her outsider status as a businesswoman rather than a career politician. Her campaign platform centered on putting "America first," echoing the nationalist and populist themes of the Trump administration. She pledged to support border security, oppose illegal immigration, defend Second Amendment rights, and promote American manufacturing and economic growth.

The August 2020 Republican primary drew a crowded field of candidates. Despite the competitive nature of the race, Harshbarger emerged victorious, winning the GOP nomination. Her victory in the primary was attributed in part to her strong alignment with Trump, her background as a businesswoman and pharmacist, and her ability to connect with voters in the district who valued outsider candidates with professional experience outside of government.

In the November 2020 general election, Harshbarger won decisively, as expected in the heavily Republican district. Her election was part of a broader wave of Republican women winning seats in Congress in 2020, a trend that received significant national media attention.

Tenure in Congress

Harshbarger was sworn into office on January 3, 2021, succeeding Phil Roe as the representative for Tennessee's 1st congressional district.

Electoral College Objection

Shortly after taking office, Harshbarger was among the Republican members of Congress who objected to the certification of the 2020 presidential election results on January 6–7, 2021. She was listed among those who voted to object to the Electoral College results certifying Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential election. This vote was consistent with her close alignment with President Trump, who had disputed the election results.

Committee Assignments and Caucus Memberships

In Congress, Harshbarger has served on various House committees and has been a member of several caucuses. She is a member of the Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative and libertarian-leaning Republican members known for taking hardline positions on fiscal policy, government spending, and immigration. She is also a member of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), the largest caucus of House Republicans, which promotes conservative policy positions.

Her legislative priorities have reflected the conservative orientation of her district and her campaign promises. As a pharmacist, Harshbarger has been involved in policy discussions related to healthcare, pharmaceutical regulation, and drug pricing. Her experience as a pharmacy owner has given her a perspective on healthcare policy that she has brought to legislative debates. She has also focused on issues related to border security, immigration enforcement, and support for the military and veterans — issues of particular importance in her district, which is home to a significant veteran population.

Fox News Profile

After her election, Harshbarger received attention from national conservative media outlets. Fox News profiled her as one of the Republican women who had been elected to Congress in 2020, highlighting the significant increase in the number of GOP women in the House. Harshbarger's victory was part of a narrative about Republican women breaking barriers in a party that had historically elected fewer women to Congress than the Democratic Party.

Reelection

Harshbarger won reelection to her seat in both 2022 and 2024, maintaining her hold on the safely Republican district. Her continued electoral success reflects both the strong Republican lean of Tennessee's 1st congressional district and her ability to maintain support among the conservative electorate in northeastern Tennessee.

Political Positions

Throughout her time in Congress, Harshbarger has maintained a consistently conservative voting record. Her positions have included:

• Support for Donald Trump: Harshbarger has been one of the most vocal supporters of Donald Trump in the Tennessee congressional delegation. She identified herself as a "Trump conservative" from the beginning of her political career and has continued to align closely with the former president's policy positions and political movement.

• America First Agenda: Consistent with her campaign theme, Harshbarger has advocated for policies aimed at prioritizing American manufacturing, reducing dependence on foreign supply chains — particularly from China — and promoting domestic economic growth.

• Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Policy: Drawing on her professional background as a pharmacist and pharmacy owner, Harshbarger has engaged with healthcare policy from the perspective of a practitioner. She has raised concerns about the sourcing of pharmaceutical ingredients from overseas, particularly from China.

• Immigration and Border Security: Harshbarger has supported stricter immigration enforcement and enhanced border security measures, positions consistent with the priorities of the Freedom Caucus and the broader Trump-aligned wing of the Republican Party.

• Freedom Caucus Membership: Her membership in the Freedom Caucus places her among the most conservative members of the House Republican conference. The Freedom Caucus has been influential in shaping House Republican strategy on spending, government shutdowns, and leadership elections.

Personal Life

Diana Harshbarger is married to Bob Harshbarger. The couple has one son named Bobby. The family has resided in the Kingsport, Tennessee, area, where Harshbarger built her pharmacy business and professional career before entering politics.

Bob Harshbarger has been involved in business in the Tri-Cities region. During the 2020 campaign, his business activities drew scrutiny when it was reported that a business associated with him had been involved in misbranding drugs manufactured in China. Diana Harshbarger distanced herself from these activities, stating that she had no involvement in her husband's business operations.

Harshbarger has maintained her connections to the Kingsport community throughout her time in Congress, and her identity as a native of northeastern Tennessee has been a central element of her public persona. Her roots in the Tri-Cities area and her career as a local pharmacist and businesswoman have been foundational to her political brand as a representative who understands the concerns and values of her constituents.

Recognition

Harshbarger's election in 2020 was notable as part of a historic wave of Republican women elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. The 2020 election cycle saw a significant increase in the number of Republican women serving in Congress, and Harshbarger was frequently cited in media coverage of this trend.

As the only woman in Tennessee's U.S. House delegation, Harshbarger has held a distinctive position within the state's congressional representation. Tennessee sends nine members to the U.S. House of Representatives, and Harshbarger's status as the sole woman among them has been noted in discussions about gender representation in the state's federal delegation.

Her background as a pharmacist has also been recognized as a relatively uncommon professional background for a member of Congress. While the House of Representatives includes members from a wide variety of professional backgrounds, pharmacists remain underrepresented, and Harshbarger's clinical and business experience in the pharmaceutical field has been highlighted as bringing a distinctive perspective to healthcare policy discussions in Congress.

Harshbarger's campaign and subsequent congressional career have also been documented through her filings with the Federal Election Commission, which provide a public record of her campaign finance activities across her three election cycles.