Trump-backed Republican wins North Carolina special congressional
election
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[September 11, 2019]
By Susan Cornwell
(Reuters) - Republican Dan Bishop won a
special U.S. congressional election in North Carolina on Tuesday,
turning back a vigorous Democratic challenge to save a longtime
stronghold for President Donald Trump's party.
With 99% of precincts reporting, Bishop, a 55-year-old state senator for
whom Trump campaigned, led Democrat Dan McCready, a 36-year-old veteran
of the Marines, 50.81% to 48.59%, the state board of elections said.
North Carolina's 9th congressional district, a suburban-rural area in
the southeastern part of the state, has been represented by Republicans
in Congress since the 1960s and voted for Trump by about 12 percentage
points in 2016.
But Democrats thought they had a chance to flip it and build on the
majority they won in the House of Representatives last year. McCready
lost by a slim margin in 2018 before state officials ruled the election
was tainted by an absentee-ballot fraud scheme that benefited his
Republican opponent, Mark Harris, and ordered a new vote. Harris did not
run again.
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Both parties poured millions of dollars into the election do-over, with
the final contest of the 2018 congressional midterms being watched for
signs of their prospects in 2020.
Trump, who flew to the district on Monday night to rally the Republican
base for Bishop, moved immediately to take credit.
"Dan Bishop was down 17 points 3 weeks ago. He then asked me for help,
we changed his strategy together, and he ran a great race," Trump wrote
on Twitter.
The Trump campaign national press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, said
Trump's endorsement "has the power to change the trajectory of political
races ... Dan Bishop won this evening & Trump’s endorsement carried him
to victory!"
On Monday, McEnany said the Trump campaign did not believe the results
of the special election would be predictive for 2020.
Republicans also won a special election in another district in North
Carolina where they had been expected to do so. Republican Greg Murphy
defeated Democrat Allen Thomas for a seat left vacant by longtime
Republican Representative Walter Jones’ death in February by 61.74% to
37.47%, according to the state board of election results.
Bishop thanked Trump and vowed to support the president's agenda in
Washington. He said his victory should send a message nationwide that
voters were rejecting the "radical, liberal policies being pushed by
today's Democratic Party."
“Tonight was the first step toward taking back the House of
Representatives in 2020 to keep this country on a path of prosperity and
strength," the Republican told a cheering crowd.
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![](../images/091119PIX/news_m23.jpg)
Dan McCready, the Democratic candidate in the special election for
North Carolina's 9th Congressional District, delivers his concession
speech next to his wife Laura following his loss in the contest, in
Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S., September 10, 2019.
REUTERS/Jonathan Drake
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SIGNS FOR 2020 ELECTIONS
Republicans hope the victory will help the party launch a comeback
effort to wrest the House away from Democrats after losing 40 seats
and overall control in House elections last November.
A wave of recent Republican retirements from the House has fueled
speculation that Republicans fear they will not win the 19 seats
they need to regain the majority in that chamber next year.
Democrats had been hoping to show that 2018 was not their high-water
mark and looked to further weaken support for Trump and his
Republicans in suburban areas.
Political analysts noted McCready did improve his standing over the
previous election in the suburbs of Charlotte. But a poor showing
with rural Trump-supporting Democrats cost the party a pickup,
analyst David Wasserman of the Cook Political Report said on
Twitter.
The chairwoman of the Democratic congressional campaign arm,
Representative Cheri Bustos, said Democrats had fallen "an inch"
short but that Republicans had required millions in spending and a
Trump rally just to "scrape by."
"Tonight’s razor-thin result in this ruby-red district solidifies
the fact that Democrats are pushing further into Republican
strongholds and are in a commanding position to protect and expand
our House Majority in 2020," she said.
Bishop campaigned on taxes, the economy and immigration. He echoed
Trump's political themes, asserting that McCready "admires
socialism" and linking him to the "Squad," a group of progressive
Democrats in the House who Trump has repeatedly attacked.
McCready, a small businessman, sought to steer the campaign
discussion away from Trump and onto issues such as healthcare,
education and teacher pay.
He labeled Bishop, who sponsored a 2016 measure in the state
legislature restricting public restroom access for transgender
people, as a "career politician."
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"We may not have won this campaign, but that does not mean that we
were wrong," McCready said in his concession speech Tuesday night.
"And as long as there are people who thrive off our division, there
is still work to be done."
(Reporting by Susan Cornwell in Washington; Editing by Colleen
Jenkins)
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