5 things to watch in critical NC race
By Max Greenwood - 09/10/19 01:06 PM EDT FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Voters are heading to the polls across south-central North Carolina to cast their ballots in the neck-and-neck race in the 9th District, a crucial special election that may very well serve as a bellwether for President Trump and Republicans’ electoral odds in 2020.
The district, which stretches from the Charlotte suburbs in the west to rural Bladen County in the east, has been in GOP hands for nearly 60 years, and Trump carried the district by more than 11 points in 2016.
But last year’s regularly scheduled election showed then-Republican candidate Mark Harris and Democrat Dan McCready separated by only 905 votes, signaling that the district’s political terrain may be shifting.
The results from that election were scrapped earlier this year after state election officials uncovered a sweeping ballot fraud scheme allegedly operated by a contractor for Harris’s campaign, and Harris declined to run in the ensuing special election.
Now, McCready and the new Republican candidate, state Sen. Dan Bishop, are locked in a dead heat, and both candidates concede that Tuesday’s election will likely come down to turnout.
Polls close at 7:30 p.m.
Here’s what to watch on Election Day in North Carolina’s 9th District:
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https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/460704-5-things-to-watch-in-critical-nc-race