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Surprise Union County candidate shakes up the 9th District Republican primary
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State Senator Dan Bishop and former Mecklenburg commissioner Matthew Ridenhour filed to run in the North Carolina 9th District congressional primary. The winner will likely face Democrat Dan McCready.
An NC GOP email distorts the truth about the special election in the 9th Congressional District race. Republican Mark Harris called for a new election, and the North Carolina elections board ordered one.
Legislators on Wednesday offered supportive comments to officials from the North Carolina elections board, who proposed new methods for combating fraud and harsher punishment for people who break election laws.
Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Texas Republican, said a new Democratic bill would legalize the type of ballot harvesting that prompted a new election in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District. PolitiFact checked.
The U.S. Justice Department has issued subpoenas in North Carolina’s 9th District election fraud case. The State Board of Elections received a subpoena. So did McCrae Dowless, the man already charged in the state investigation.
Fern Shubert and Stony Rushing are in. Former Sen Tommy Tucker, a Republican, is out. They were among the candidates to make news as filing opened in the special congressional election.
McCrae Dowless, Caitlyn Croom, Matthew Mathis, Rebecca D. Thompson and Tonia Gordon, indicted in an alleged Bladen County ballot fraud scheme in the 9th district, have been arrested around North Carolina.
Ahead of the candidate filing period in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District primary, a Union County GOP official warns hopefuls to avoid a ‘family feud.’ Up to 15 Republicans could seek a seat in Congress.
In a speech that referenced North Carolina’s election fraud, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said absentee ballots aren’t trackable. PolitiFact asked the NC elections board about the Republican’s statement.
In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell used the election fraud case in North Carolina as a springboard to talk about how Republicans “for years” called for common sense safeguards against “voter fraud.”
Two potential Republican candidates for the 9th District special election say they won’t run to replace Mark Harris. North Carolina set the dates for the primary and general elections for Congress.
Mark Harris may have endorsed Stony Rushing in the 9th District, but other Republicans aren’t hanging up their hopes of running for the seat. He’s not even the only likely candidate from Union County.
McCrae Dowless, the operative in 9th District election fraud case in North Carolina, has been arrested, charged in connection with absentee ballot collection. Republican Mark Harris was the apparent winner.
Republican Mark Harris announces that he won’t run in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District, instead endorsing Stony Rushing, a Union County commissioner. Democrat Dan McCready has launched his campaign.
How Mark Harris of Charlotte went from pastor to a politician, whose apparent win in 9th Congressional District became part of an election fraud investigation. State Board of Elections called for a new election.
Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said her investigation into absentee ballot irregularities is near the end. Mark Harris, the Republican congressional candidate, called for a new election Thursday.
Former North Carolina Gov Pat McCrory, a Republican, won’t run for Congress in the state’s 9th District, three days after State Board of Elections ordered a new election. McCrory is former mayor in Charlotte, NC.
Bladen County election workers saw early vote totals too early. But were results leaked? PolitiFact reviews testimony from the North Carolina fraud hearing in the Mark Harris vs. Dan McCready race.
Republican Mark Harris called for a new election in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District, giving up on certification as winner in a race marked by voting irregularities in Bladen and Robeson counties.
Republican Mark Harris to testify at the North Carolina Board of Elections hearing on November 2018 general midterm election & vote fraud allegations in 9th District race. Harris faced Democrat Dan McCready.
Here are updates from testimony by Republican Mark Harris’ son at the North Carolina Board of Elections hearing on the November 2018 general midterm election & vote fraud allegations in 9th District race.
Here are updates on North Carolina Board of Elections hearing on November 2018 general midterm election & vote fraud allegations in 9th District race between Republican Mark Harris and Democrat Dan McCready.
Here are live updates on North Carolina Board of Elections hearing on November 2018 general midterm election & vote fraud allegations in 9th District race between Republican Mark Harris, Democrat Dan McCready.
Here are updates on North Carolina Board of Elections hearing on November 2018 general midterm election & vote fraud allegations in 9th District race between Republican Mark Harris and Democrat Dan McCready.
Here are live updates on North Carolina Board of Elections hearing on November 2018 general midterm election & vote fraud allegations in 9th District race between Republican Mark Harris, Democrat Dan McCready.
Here’s a timeline of events since results of the November 2018 general midterm election & vote fraud allegations in the 9th District race between North Carolina Republican Mark Harris and Democrat Dan McCready.
The state board of elections will decide what happens next in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District. The results of the 2018 election between Mark Harris and Dan McCready have not been certified.
Democrat Dan McCready has a lot more money than Republican Mark Harris going into any new election in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District. The result has been clouded by absentee ballot fraud allegations.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper named a new state elections board that will oversee the investigation into election fraud in the 9th District congressional race between Mark Harris and Dan McCready.
Former state elections board chairman Josh Malcolm, who started the 9th District probe, says he won’t serve on a reconstituted board. Malcolm was under fire from Republicans who accused him of trying to elect a Democrat.
North Carolina’s state board of elections will hold an evidentiary hearing about the disputed 2018 election in the 9th Congressional District between Mark Harris and Dan McCready.
The North Carolina elections board is investigating the Mark Harris vs Dan McCready race. No Bladen County voters called about possible fraud, according to NC GOP’s Dallas Woodhouse. PolitiFact fact checks it.
The Republican and Democratic nominees to a new NC State Board of Elections board hit a snag, hours before a deadline to appoint. The elections board is investigating fraud allegations in the 9th District.
This week, Republicans and Democrats released statements about the status of the NC elections board investigation into alleged fraud in the race between Mark Harris and Dan McCready. Here are the facts.
Republican Mark Harris said Friday he’s recovering from a severe infection that has left him hospitalized. Harris continues to unofficially lead the 9th District congressional race over Democrat Dan McCready in a contested election.
Democrat Dan McCready has raised $500,000 for a new campaign, though it’s unclear when or if there will be a special election in the 9th Congressional District. Allegations of fraud have clouded the election.
McCrae Dowless and Jens Lutz are key figures in the fight over election results in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District. But the pair have a long, complicated history.
In a court hearing, an attorney for Republican Mark Harris asked a judge to intervene as the state elections board investigates potential election fraud in the 9th Congressional District Harris-McCready race.
The Justice Department official responsible for the prosecution of election crimes met with staff members of the North Carolina state board of elections about allegations of fraud in the 2016 election.
NC Republicans ratchet up their case to certify Republican Mark Harris in the 9th District, questioning why no evidence has emerged to prove that there was election fraud. Democrats say let the investigation continue.
Who are all the key players in the 9th District election fraud scandal? From pastor and Republican candidate Mark Harris to Bladen County political operative McCrae Dowless, here’s a cast of characters.
Republican Mark Harris said he doesn’t expect a new election in the 9th Congressional District, even though it’s unclear when or if his November election will be certified. Congress has refused to seat him.
Republican Mark Harris met with staff of the state board of elections on Thursday, the same day members of the new Congress were sworn in in Washington. Harris’ race in the 9th Congressional District has not been certified due to alleged election fraud.
In North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District, it could be a long time before a new election takes place and a representative is seated. Republican Mark Harris is trying to force certification of his victory, but Democrat Dan McCready could still face him in a rematch.
In North Carolina’s 9th District, now under investigation, Dallas Woodhouse of the NC GOP said no elections protest was filed, Dan McCready conceded to Mark Harris and county boards certified the results.
Former NC Gov. Pat McCrory Wednesday ruled out running in the 9th District, but not for other offices in 2020 or 2022. The former governor said he wants to continue being a voice in public affairs.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper Wednesday blamed Republicans for blocking a probe into fraud allegations in the 9th District. He said their failure to name members to the elections board puts a Jan. 11 hearing in doubt.
Mark Harris, who last week asked the state elections board to certify his disputed win in the 9th Congressional District, said Monday night that he plans to meet with elections staff this week.
Outgoing US Rep. Robert Pittenger said he won’t run if there’s a new primary in the 9th District. His comments came as the district’s election results are in flux.
Democrat Dan McCready’s campaign listed 48 witnesses for the state board of elections to subpoena for a scheduled Jan. 11 hearing into possible election fraud in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District.
A court order triggered moves by Gov. Roy Cooper to continue the state election board’s probe of fraud allegations in the 9th District congressional race and by Charlotte Republican Mark Harris to be named winner.
In 2017, the NC State Board of Elections sent a letter to the US Attorney warning it had evidence that suggests “efforts to manipulate elections results through the absentee ballot process” in Bladen County.
The state elections board has extended its investigation into questions about absentee ballots to Columbus County, focusing in part on a contested sheriff’s race that has yet to be certified.
Why didn’t the North Carolina State Board of Elections and Ethics not move more aggressively after a 2016 investigation showed possible absentee ballot tampering by McCrae Dowless? The Bladen County GOP wants answers.
North Carolina’s disputed 9th District congressional election could leave the seat vacant for months, leaving more than 700,000 people without representation after the new Congress takes office Jan. 3.
Despite a criminal record and financial troubles, McCrae Dowless became a player in Bladen County politics. Now he is involved in the absentee ballots election scandal in North Carolina’s 9th district.
North Carolina congressional race results between Republican Mark Harris and Democrat Dan McCready for the 9th District House seat are delayed by fraud charges. What role did McCrae Dowless play in accusations?
Investigators want to learn whether political operators illegally harvested absentee ballots in Bladen and neighboring Robeson County, leading to a fraud investigation that has the 9th District congressional race in limbo.
Amid an ongoing investigation into election fraud, North Carolina lawmakers this week opened the door to a new 9th District primary. That could be bad news for Republican Mark Harris, who won the election.
McCrae Dowless, a person of interest in the North Carolina state board of elections investigation into possible election fraud in the 9th Congressional District, said he did not violate any campaign laws.
Who are Andy Yates and Red Dome Group, the political consulting firm tied to Mark Harris and McCrae Dowless? Yates, a prolific Republican operative, started Red Dome in 2013. He has worked for many Republican candidates.
Voter ID probably would not have changed the outcome of the 9th Congressional District election involving Mark Harris because the issue appears to stem from people collecting ballots, and not casting them.
The North Carolina 9th District Congressional race is still uncertain, with allegations of election fraud and absentee ballot tampering, but Republican candidate Mark Harris said....
A surprise candidate from Union County jumped into North Carolina’s special 9th District Republican primary Monday, shaking up a race that was already shaken up just hours earlier.
Former state Sen. Fern Shubert of Marshville, a maverick one-time gubernatorial candidate, joined Union County commissioner Stony Rushing of Wingate as the first Republicans in the race.
Earlier in the day, another Union Republican, former Sen. Tommy Tucker of Waxhaw, ended weeks of speculation with the announcement that he won’t run. State Rep. Dean Arp of Monroe has said he’s unlikely to run.
Union is most heavily Republican county in the district that runs from Charlotte past Fayetteville. Until Shubert’s entry, Rushing appeared to be the only Union County GOP candidate in a field that’s expected to include two prominent Mecklenburg Republicans.
Former Mecklenburg commissioner Matthew Ridenhour, who has announced, and state Sen. Dan Bishop, who is widely expected to, could compete for the votes in the county with the district’s second-largest Republican electorate.
Libertarian Jeff Scott of Charlotte also filed Monday. As recently as Saturday, one GOP party official said up to 15 Republicans could enter the race before filing ends Friday.
Tucker and Raleigh Republican David Blackwelder both cited the crowded field and the need for the party to come together without a bruising primary and a possible runoff as reasons for not running. A candidate needs 30 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff.
Blackwelder, a former Wake County commissioner candidate from Raleigh, tweeted over the weekend that he won’t run to “hopefully prevent a runoff.”
Tucker echoed his sentiments.
“I cannot see how an already crowded primary field would help the Republican Party,” Tucker told the Observer. “I would love to run against no-stand Dan McCready and the Democrats.”
The GOP primary winner is expected to face McCready, who ran in the 2018 race that was marred by allegations of election fraud. Republicans have criticized what they call McCready’s reluctance to stake out positions. McCready has rejected the suggestion. In the 2018 race, he staked out a centrist, “country over party” platform in his attempt to flip a district that’s been in Republican hands for more than five decades.
A ‘bulldog’
Rushing is a gun range owner and Union County commissioner endorsed by Mark Harris, the Republican who ran against McCready in 2018.
Shubert is a former state legislator who built a reputation as a maverick who wasn’t shy about going after opponents. One GOP colleague at the time called her a “bulldog.” She ran for governor in 2004, finishing fifth in the primary among six Republicans. Though out of elected office ever since, she’s confident of her chances.
“I have a huge head start on name recognition and I’m a known quality,” she said. “You can spend $1 million telling people what you’re going to do. But people can see what I’ve done.”
Also Monday, former Fayetteville Mayor Nat Robertson Monday cited political geography in explaining his decision not to enter the race. The balance of voters in the district — weighted toward denser Union and Mecklenburg counties in the west — convinced him to decline to run.
“A candidate from the eastern part of the district would have very little chance of actually winning the primary when going against other candidates with decent name recognition from the west,” he wrote on Facebook.
Newcomers Stevie Rivenbark of Fayetteville and Nadia Caro Robinson of Charlotte have announced they plan to run.
Though he declined to make an endorsement, Tucker said he’s inclined to support a Mecklenburg candidate.
“If I had any leaning to endorse anyone at this time, it would probably be my Senate friend, Dan Bishop,” Tucker said. “But that’s not an endorsement.”
Bishop is a conservative legislator with statewide name recognition from his role as one of the authors of House Bill 2, the controversial law that blocked municipalities from establishing local LGBTQ protections.
Bishop couldn’t be reached Monday.
‘A function of money’
Mecklenburg County Republican Larry Shaheen, a political consultant and attorney, said the primary’s compressed time frame means that candidates will be pressured to raise a large amount of money quickly. He predicted that a successful primary campaign would need at least $500,000 for the phone calls, TV ads and mailers necessary to get the candidate’s message and name out to voters.
“This is going to be a function of money. Who gets on TV first, who gets in the mailbox first, who makes the phone call first,” he said. “Anyone can be a tempest in a teapot if they don’t have the money.”
With low turnout likely in the off-year primary, the winning candidate might not have to rack up a huge number of votes to hit the required 30 percent threshold. In June 2016, just 26,506 Republicans turned out to vote in the primary election for the 9th District.
Former incumbent U.S. Rep. Robert Pittenger won that contest over Harris by 134 votes. He got 9,299 votes, or just under 35 percent of ballots cast. Turnout was about 18 percent.
On Saturday, outgoing Union County GOP Chairman Dan Barry urged candidates to have a civil primary.
“I challenge you primary contestants, don’t spend a lot of time fighting each other,” he said. “We won’t have a lot of time after May 14 to heal the wounds.”