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Under Four Months Until the Special Election, NC-09 Remains in Toss Up
Cook Political ReportThe people of North Carolina's 9th district — who have been without a representative in Congress for nearly five months — will have one sooner than first expected, with the do-over election now set for September 10.
State Sen. Dan Bishop convincingly won the Republican primary outright on Tuesday, netting almost half the vote in a ten candidate field and avoiding the runoff that was expected at the outset. He'll now face off against Democrat Dan McCready, the 2018 nominee who was unopposed again. The redo comes after last November's vote was plagued by allegations of election fraud and absentee ballot tampering by a contractor for then-GOP nominee Mark Harris. The Baptist minister had appeared to eke out a win over McCready by just 905 votes, but earlier this year the state board of elections ordered another vote.
Republicans have gotten good news ever since then — first with the radioactive Harris deciding not to run again and then Bishop being able to win the nomination outright this week. That meant the conclusion of the race wouldn't be delayed until November 2019, coinciding with local elections in Mecklenburg County which could have given Democrats a boost, in addition to letting McCready get even more of a head start.
Now, both parties have their candidates in place for what seems like the never-ending congressional race — the lone holdout from the 2018 cycle that will determine whether or not Republicans need 18 or 19 seats in order to win back the majority (still a daunting task either way).
We're keeping this contest in the Toss Up column for now, but these latest developments are all encouraging signs for Republicans. Ultimately, they're defending a seat that is still very red in nature, even if the oddities that preceded another vote still leaves quite a bit in limbo to give Democrats an opening.
State Sen. Dan Bishop convincingly won the Republican primary outright on Tuesday, netting almost half the vote in a ten candidate field and avoiding the runoff that was expected at the outset. He'll now face off against Democrat Dan McCready, the 2018 nominee who was unopposed again. The redo comes after last November's vote was plagued by allegations of election fraud and absentee ballot tampering by a contractor for then-GOP nominee Mark Harris. The Baptist minister had appeared to eke out a win over McCready by just 905 votes, but earlier this year the state board of elections ordered another vote.
Republicans have gotten good news ever since then — first with the radioactive Harris deciding not to run again and then Bishop being able to win the nomination outright this week. That meant the conclusion of the race wouldn't be delayed until November 2019, coinciding with local elections in Mecklenburg County which could have given Democrats a boost, in addition to letting McCready get even more of a head start.
Now, both parties have their candidates in place for what seems like the never-ending congressional race — the lone holdout from the 2018 cycle that will determine whether or not Republicans need 18 or 19 seats in order to win back the majority (still a daunting task either way).
We're keeping this contest in the Toss Up column for now, but these latest developments are all encouraging signs for Republicans. Ultimately, they're defending a seat that is still very red in nature, even if the oddities that preceded another vote still leaves quite a bit in limbo to give Democrats an opening.