The 2018 fall election brought about huge changes to the established political landscape. There was the election of the first openly gay governor, the first openly bi-sexual U.S. Senator, the first Muslim women elected to Congress, and the highest voter turnout for a midterm election since 1914. It was considered a “blue wave” election, where the Democratic Party gained back many of the seats it lost during the 2016 election.
But perhaps the most extraordinary election of all took place in North Carolina’s District 9 Congressional race.
That’s where Democrat Dan McCready, a military veteran and entrepreneur, faced off against his Republican challenger, Mark Harris, a Baptist pastor. Harris was endorsed by President Donald Trump as well as by conservative activist groups including the NRA, Tea Party Express, and Family Research Council.
An extraordinary election during the 2018 “blue wave” serves as a warning for elections challenges ahead.
McCready, meanwhile, was endorsed by groups that shared his party’s ideology, including the Feminist Majority PAC, United Auto Workers, and the League of Conservation Voters. Both candidates received large campaign contributions from outside forces, with McCready getting the lion’s share, $6.6 million compared to Harris’s $2.1 million.
On Election Day, November 6, McCready lost the race by 905 votes or 0.4 percent. The next morning, Harris announced his win. “Once all the early and in-person votes were counted late last night, the results showed a clear win for team Harris,” he said. “I have to say as I look at that map tonight, thank God for Bladen and Union County.”
But Harris’s win didn’t last long. In mid-December, the state Democratic Party filed affidavits alleging potentially illegal activities behind Harris’s victory. After two witnesses came forward to say they were part of a ballot-harvesting operation, the State Board of Elections voted not to certify the results.
During a multi-day hearing in February, the board probed numerous alleged crimes committed by Leslie McCrae Dowless, a Harris campaign operative. Dowless was hired by the Red Dome Group, a political consultancy firm working for Harris. Evidence showed that Dowless paid numerous accomplices to collect absentee ballots that were unsealed or incomplete, and sometimes signed off as a witness for absentee voters.
When Harris was called to the stand, he was overcome with emotion. During his testimony, he called for a new election, saying, “It’s become clear to me that public confidence in the 9th District has been undermined to an extent that a new election is warranted.” Then he excused himself from the stand and walked out.
On February 21, 2019, the Board of Elections voted to throw out the election results and call for a new election. Five days later, Mark Harris dropped out of the District 9 race, citing health concerns. A day later, Leslie Dowless was indicted and arrested on election fraud.
New election dates were set: a primary in May and a special election on September 10. After Harris dropped out, many other Republicans announced their intention to run for the primary. Former Mecklenburg County Commissioner Matthew Ridenhour, Fayetteville businesswoman Stevie Rivenbark, and former cop David Blackwelder were some of the earliest contenders. McCready ran unopposed, which eliminated the need for a Democratic primary.
Harris threw his whole-hearted support behind another candidate, Stony Rushing, an odd figure in North Carolina politics. Rushing is a Boss Hogg look-alike, gun range owner, Union County Commissioner, and a distant relative of moonshiner Jerry Rushing. Harris said he endorsed Stony because they shared “so many of the issues that concern us, including the issue of life, our national security, and religious freedom.” In addition, Stony was an ardent supporter of Harris, who denounced any allegations of election fraud attributed to his campaign.
Also getting into the race was Dan Bishop, a career politician who has served in the state legislature since 2015 and was the lead sponsor of H.B. 2, also known as the “Bathroom Bill.” This bill forced people to use the public bathrooms of the birth gender—the one listed on their birth certificate.
In the May 14 election, Bishop bested all nine of the other Republicans seeking the nomination, garnering nearly 48 percent of the vote. Now Bishop will be facing McCready in the general election in September.
Will this next election, unlike the one last year, be free of fraud? That’s a hard promise to make.
Bladen County, the area where Dowless ran his ballot tampering operation, has faced five elections investigations since 2010, many related to PACs or political consultancy firms, according to the Raleigh News and Observer.
It’s also uncertain whether the North Carolina Board of Elections will take extra steps to prevent this from happening again. Jen Jones, a spokesman for the nonpartisan group Democracy North Carolina believes that’s unlikely to happen.
Will this next election, unlike the one last year, be free of fraud? That’s a hard promise to make.
“We need to look closely about why it took so long to address what appear to have been long-standing issues, and ensure we have appropriate enforcement mechanism and resources for proven improprieties,” Jones says. “Until then, election fraud will remain a threat in North Carolina—especially in rural places like Bladen County where many people, especially voters of color, understandably already feel cut out of the political process.”
Jen says her group is working to minimize problems in the September 10 election. “We’ve hosted town halls and other community meetings in the state’s Ninth Congressional District to help voters understand what happened,” she says. “And will continue to focus our educational efforts to make sure voters have information and easy access to cast their ballots in this high-profile special election.”
As of now, McCready appears to be far ahead of Bishop when it comes to campaign contributions. From January 1 of this year through April 24, Federal Election Commission records show, McCready raised about $2 million for his campaign, compared to just $500,000 for Bishop.
North Carolina’s shifting demographics will also have an impact. In 2016, Trump beat Hillary Clinton by about 12 points in District 9. In 2018, the numbers shifted and McCready lost by less than one percent, indicating that many voters may be switching sides.
District 9 includes Mecklenburg and Union counties, both integral for either party to win. Mecklenburg generally leans Democratic, while Union is considered a Republican stronghold. McCready’s success may hinge on a high voter turnout in Mecklenburg County.
In terms of their politics, the two candidates are far apart.
A classic hard-right conservative, Bishop states on his website: “I’m pro-life, pro-gun, and pro-wall.” He also calls McCready a “radical” and a “socialist.” A brief synopsis of his positions includes, “Dan fully supports President Trump’s border wall” and “Dan is pro-life and will fight extremist Democrats’ to stop infanticide and late-term abortion on demand.”
Bishop believes in lower taxes, smaller government, and requiring a photo ID to vote. He claims to have led the fight to “put the successful Voter ID Constitutional Amendment on the ballot last November.” Of McCready and his supporters, Bishop has said in a tweet, “They’re socialists. Gun grabbers. Supporting infanticide and open borders. Dan McCready’s friends in Washington have gone plain crazy. He’s the wrong Dan in this election.”
In reality, McCready is a regular blue dog Democrat. He vows on his website to oppose “evil efforts to suppress the vote of African Americans and Native Americans.” He calls for overturning the Citizens United decision, strengthening Medicare, and defending reproductive choice. He also wants to secure the border with physical barriers, infrared cameras, and drones, while increasing America’s military might.
McCready’s website states: “He will fight to rid our politics of dark and corporate money, which is the worst part of our broken political system.” However, Bishop has accused him of taking dark money in his 2018 campaign, a charge the Raleigh News and Observer rated as “mostly true,” citing the nearly $1 million he received in outside support from a PAC that backs Democrats.
The future of North Carolina’s Congressional District 9 remains a mystery. With accusations of political machinations by both parties, exorbitant spending by outside political groups, and a demographically shifting state, the election is a complete toss up. One thing that’s certain is that many eyes will be on September’s special election as a sign of things to come.