Republican Dan Bishop narrowly defeated Democrat Dan McCready on Tuesday night in the race to represent the 9th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, according to unofficial returns.
In Bladen County, it was a convincing win for Bishop (pictured, above) based on a turnout of 37.1% of registered voters. Bladen County had the second highest percentage of voters cast ballots in the eight-county district.
Bishop won nearly 60 peercent of the votes in Bladen County. The Charlotte lawyer and state Senator had 3,494 of Bladen County’s 5,890 votes cast in the special election, based on unofficial returns. McCready, a retired Marine and Charlotte-based businessman, had 2,363 votes, according to the Bladen County Board of Elections.
It was a much tighter race in a district that includes a portion of Bladen County as well as all or parts of seven other counties in southeastern North Carolina between Bladen and Charlotte.
With all 210 precincts reporting, Bishop had 96,004 votes, or 50.74%, while McCready had 92,066, or 48.66%, according to the State Board of Elections. Libertarian Jeff Scott had 767 and Green Party candidate Allen Smith had 371.
“Congratulations to Greg Murphy and Dan Bishop on their victories in (Tuesday’s) special elections,” Republican National Committee spokesman Kevin Knoth said in a prepared statement. “President Donald Trump’s strong leadership, record-breaking economy and his vision for the country is clearly resonating with North Carolina voters while the socialist, open border policies espoused by Democrats was soundly rejected (Tuesday) and they will be again in 2020.”
Republicans also won a special election in District 3 on Tuesday night. Greg Murphy easily beat Democrat Allen Thomas 70,142 to 42,570, based on unofficial returns.
“Republicans spent millions and trotted out the President, the Vice President, and every national Republican to barely save a race that should have never been a toss-up in the first place,” said North Carolina Democratic Party chairman Wayne Goodwin in a prepared statement. “Dan McCready ran a strong campaign centered around hard work, integrity, and pocket-book issues and was able to close the gap in a district gerrymandered to elect a Republican.
“His decision to fight for the very voters Republicans silenced through their brazen, coordinated election fraud is an example for all North Carolinians and his efforts in a district President Trump carried by 12 points is proof that Democrats are poised to make gains in 2020.”
Along with the convincing win in Bladen County, Bishop also won easily in Union with 60% of the vote, based on unofficial returns, and had slim victories in Cumberland and Richmond counties. McCready won Mecklenburg, Scotland and Anson counties with 56% and narrowly won in Robeson County.
Here are unoffical totals from Tuesday’s election.
Bladen: Bishop 3,494; McCready 2,363; Scott 15, Smith 11
Cumberland: Bishop 7,477; McCready 7,441; Scott 42; Smith 31
Robeson: McCready 10,524; Bishop 10,293; Scott 58; Smith 40
Anson: McCready 3,159; Bishop 2,375; Scott 15; Smith 11
Mecklenburg: McCready 36,908; Bishop 28,683; Scott 271; Smith 138
Richmond: Bishop 4,713; McCready 4,276; Scott 39; Smith 22
Scotland: McCready 3,644; Bishop 2,804; Scott 21; Smith 13
Union: Bishop 36,165; McCready 23,751; Scott 306; Smith 105
The 9th District special election was called after the State Board of Elections in February unanimously ordered a new election after a four-day evidentiary hearing showed a “coordinated, unlawful and substantially resourced absentee ballot scheme” operated in Bladen and Robeson counties during the 2018 general election. Republican Mark Harris had defeated McCready by about 900 votes in November.
The 9th District has been without a representative in Congress for almost a year.
Bishop will serve the remainder of the two-year term. The seat will be on the ballot in the November 2020 election.
It’s been almost a year since a portion of Bladen County has had representation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
That’s expected to change Tuesday night.
The special election for the 9th Congressional District seat is Tuesday. Twelve precincts in Bladen County will be open until 7:30 p.m. Voters in line at 7:30 p.m. will be able to cast a ballot.
Candidates for the U.S. House seat are Democrat Dan McCready, Republican Dan Bishop, Green Party’s Allen Smith and Libertarian Jeff Scott. The district includes all or parts of eight counties in southeastern North Carolina and runs to Charlotte.
Precincts open for voting in Bladen County include:
ABBOTS – Community Bldg. 13670 Twisted Hickory Rd., Bladenboro.
BETHEL – Singletary United Methodist Church 241 3rd St., Dublin.
BLADENBORO 1 – Historical Bldg. 818 S. Main St., Bladenboro.
BLADENBORO 2 – Old Spaulding-Monroe School 508 MLK Dr., Bladenboro.
BROWN MARSH – Town Hall 81 N Elm St., Clarkton.
CENTRAL – Shriner’s Bldg. 2016 NC 242 Hwy N, Elizabethtown.
COLLY – Fire Dept. 1879 White Lake Dr., White Lake.
CYPRESS CREEK – Hickory Grove Fire Dept. 132 NC 210 Hwy W, Garland.
ELIZABETHTOWN 1 – Bladen County Recreation Dept. Gym 803 W King St., Elizabethtown
HOLLOW – Municipal Bldg. 14867 NC 87 Hwy W, Tar Heel.
TURNBULL – Ammon Comm. Bldg. 120 Ammon Comm. Cent. Rd., Garland.
WHITE OAK – Ruritan Bldg. 9579 NC 53 Hwy W, White Oak.
Other items of interest about voting Tuesday.
Same-day voter registration is not available on Election Day.
Voters who need assistance or accommodations at the polls must request it. Individuals who are unable to enter the polling place may vote curbside.
Voter photo identification is not required in any North Carolina election in 2019. It will be required to vote in 2020, with exceptions.
The 9th District special election was called after the State Board of Elections in February unanimously ordered a new election after a four-day evidentiary hearing showed a “coordinated, unlawful and substantially resourced absentee ballot scheme” operated in Bladen and Robeson counties during the 2018 general election.
Republican Mark Harris defeated McCready by about 900 votes in November.
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