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American politician (born 1977) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Harry Bhandari (Nepali: ह्यारी भण्डारी; born October 1, 1977) is a Nepalese-born American politician and educator. A member of the Democratic Party, he has served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the eighth district since 2019. Bhandari is the first Nepali American elected to a state legislature in the United States.[1]
Harry Bhandari | |
|---|---|
| ह्यारी भण्डारी | |
Bhandari in 2022 | |
| Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the 8th district | |
| Assumed office January 9, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Joe Cluster |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 1, 1977 Thapathana, Nepal |
| Citizenship | Nepal United States (since 2011) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Prithvi Narayan Campus Tribhuvan University (MA) University of Maryland, Baltimore County (PhD) |
| Website | Campaign website |
Bhandari unsuccessfully ran in the 2024 U.S. House of Representatives election in Maryland's 2nd congressional district, placing a distant second to Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski in the Democratic primary.
Bhandari was born in Thapathana, Nepal,[2] on October 1, 1977,[3] to father Ammar Bahadur and mother Kanti Kumari.[2] He graduated from Prithvi Narayan Campus, earned his master's in English literature from Tribhuvan University,[4] and later attended the University of Maryland, Baltimore County where he received his Doctor of Philosophy in 2021.[4]
Bhandari moved to the United States in 2005 to present a paper at George Mason University,[5] and became a U.S. citizen in 2011.[2]
Bhandari became a teacher for Baltimore County Public Schools in 2006[6] and later taught at Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School,[7] and worked a faculty member for Baltimore City Community College.[8] He briefly returned to Nepal following the April 2015 Nepal earthquake to assist earthquake victims.[5]
Bhandari first entered politics in 2008 as a volunteer for Barack Obama's presidential campaign.[5] He later served as the secretary of the Young Democrats of America's minority caucus and on the board of directors for the District 6 Democratic and Civic Association Club.[8]
Bhandari unsuccessfully ran for the Maryland House of Delegates in 2014.[9] He won election to the Maryland House of Delegates in 2018, during which he ran on a slate with Carl W. Jackson and incumbent state delegate Eric Bromwell[9] and defeated incumbent Republican state delegate Joe Cluster in the general election.[10][11]
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Bhandari was sworn in on copies of Bhagavad Gita and Vedas[12] on January 9, 2019, and has served as a member of the Health and Government Operations Committee during his entire tenure. He has also chaired the Maryland Legislative Asian-American and Pacific-Islander Caucus since 2023.[3]
During the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Bhandari ran to serve as a delegate for Joe Biden at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.[13] He again applied to run as a delegate to the 2024 Democratic National Convention, pledged to Biden, but was denied by the Maryland Democratic Party.[14]
In January 2024, ahead of U.S. Representative Dutch Ruppersberger announcing that he would not run for re-election in 2024, Bhandari filed to run for Maryland's 2nd congressional district in the 2024 election.[15] He officially announced his campaign on January 29.[7] During the Democratic primary, Bhandari ran on a platform including healthcare and education.[16] He was defeated in the Democratic primary election, placing second behind Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski with 8.5 percent of the vote.[17]
During the 2023 legislative session, Bhandari introduced legislation requiring high schools to teach conflict resolution classes. The bill did not pass out of committee.[6]
During the 2023 legislative session, Bhandari introduced legislation to encourage schools to install solar arrays in school construction projects.[18]
During the 2020 legislative session, Bhandari voted against a bill requiring background checks for shotgun and rifle sales.[19]
In June 2021, following the fatal shooting of Nepali student Sagar Ghimire in Woodlawn, Bhandari promised to introduce legislation to strengthen the state's gun control laws during the 2022 legislative session.[20] That year, he introduced the Sagar Ghimire Act to reassess Maryland's extreme risk gun law.[21]
During his 2024 congressional campaign, Bhandari supported federal legislation to ban assault weapon sales.[22]
During his 2024 congressional campaign, Bhandari supported a ceasefire in the Israel–Hamas war, comparing it to the Nepalese Civil War.[22]
During the 2019 legislative session, Bhandari supported a bill to establish the Prescription Drug Affordability Board to negotiate the price of prescription drugs in Maryland.[23]
During his 2024 congressional campaign, Bhandari endorsed the Medicare for All Act.[22] He also introduced bills to create a task force on reducing emergency department wait times during that year's legislative session.[16]
In May 2021, Bhandari called on Congress to pass the For the People Act.[24]
During the 2023 legislative session, Bhandari introduced legislation that would make the state recognize Dashain as a commemorative day. The bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Wes Moore, making Maryland the first U.S. state to recognize the festival.[25]
In 2024, Bhandari introduced a bill that would require movie theaters to have limited screenings of movies with closed captioning and subtitle options.[16]
Bhandari is married and has two children.[8] He lives in Nottingham, Maryland.[9] In September 2018, following the fatal shooting of Brindra Giri in Towson, Maryland, Bhandari helped Giri's family with funeral arrangements and with translating from Nepali to English.[26]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Eric Bromwell (incumbent) | 5,601 | 22.8 | |
| Democratic | Renee Smith | 4,632 | 18.9 | |
| Democratic | Bill Paulshock | 4,512 | 18.4 | |
| Democratic | Harry Bhandari | 3,828 | 15.6 | |
| Democratic | Debbie Schillinger | 3,124 | 12.7 | |
| Democratic | Steve Verch | 1,752 | 7.1 | |
| Democratic | Kyle Williams | 1,114 | 4.5 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Eric Bromwell (incumbent) | 6,595 | 31.2 | |
| Democratic | Harry Bhandari | 5,941 | 28.1 | |
| Democratic | Carl W. Jackson | 5,246 | 24.8 | |
| Democratic | Joe Werner | 3,335 | 15.8 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Eric Bromwell (incumbent) | 22,485 | 18.0 | |
| Democratic | Harry Bhandari | 22,094 | 17.7 | |
| Republican | Joseph C. Boteler III | 20,802 | 16.7 | |
| Democratic | Carl Jackson | 20,232 | 16.2 | |
| Republican | Joe Cluster (incumbent) | 20,084 | 16.1 | |
| Republican | Joe Norman | 18,898 | 15.2 | |
| Write-in | 99 | 0.1 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Harry Bhandari (incumbent) | 19,702 | 21.62 | |
| Democratic | Carl W. Jackson (incumbent) | 18,950 | 20.79 | |
| Democratic | Nick Allen | 18,062 | 19.82 | |
| Republican | Kathleen A. Smero | 11,838 | 12.99 | |
| Republican | Timothy M. Neubauer | 11,259 | 12.36 | |
| Republican | Glen Geelhaar | 11,243 | 12.34 | |
| Write-in | 74 | 0.08 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Johnny Olszewski | 65,994 | 78.7 | |
| Democratic | Harry Bhandari | 7,148 | 8.5 | |
| Democratic | Sia Kyriakakos | 4,079 | 4.9 | |
| Democratic | Sharron Reed-Burns | 3,472 | 4.1 | |
| Democratic | Jessica Sjoberg | 1,691 | 2.0 | |
| Democratic | Clint Spellman Jr. | 1,466 | 1.8 | |
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