By Erin Smith
The filing for the 9th Congressional District election has gotten underway with four candidates declaring their intentions to run for the vacant seat. The filing period will close at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 15.
As of Wednesday morning, two individuals have filed for the Republican primary. Stony Dwight Rushing, of Wingate, NC and Fern Shubert of Marshville have filed seeking election to the seat.
Shubert is a former Republican member of the NC General Assembly where she represented District 35 in the NC Senate which included Union and Mecklenburg counties. She is also an accountant.
Rushing currently serves as a member of the Union County Board of Commissioners.
Former Republican candidate Mark Harris said he would not run again citing health reasons.
Libertarian Jeff Scott of Charlotte also filed seeking election to the US House District 9 seat.
Democratic candidate Dan McCready has filed for the Democratic Primary.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections ordered a new election for the NC 9th Congressional District race following an investigation and evidentiary hearing regarding absentee ballot issues in Bladen County. The evidentiary hearing was conducted in February where investigators presented evidence and testimony was heard from several individuals regarding an alleged absentee ballot harvesting operated by McCrae Dowless.
Dowless along with Caitlyn Croom, Rebecca D. Thompson, Matthew Monroe Mathis and Tonia Marie Gordon were all indicted by a Wake County Grand Jury in late February.
Dowless is charged with three counts of felony obstruction of justice, two counts of conspiracy to commit felony obstruction of justice and two counts of possession of absentee ballots.
Croom is charged with conspiracy to commit felony obstruction of justice and possession of an absentee ballot.
Thompson has been charged with conspiracy to commit felonious obstruction of justice and possession of absentee ballot.
Mathis has been charged with conspiracy to commit felonious obstruction of justice, possession of absentee ballot and falsely signing certification on absentee ballot.
Gordon has been charged with conspiracy to commit felonious obstruction of justice and possession of absentee ballot.
The new election for the the Bladen County Commissioner District 3 and the Bladen County Soil and Water District Board will take place on May 14th. NC State Board of Elections Spokesman Patrick Gannon said in the case of the Bladen County Commissioner District 3 race and the Bladen County Soil and Water District race, there will be no new candidate filing period nor a new primary.
“Those two races are redo races with the same candidates that ran in November,” said Gannon.