Voters Head To The Polls In North Carolina Special Election

Voters of North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District head to the polls Tuesday to fill the House seat that has sat vacant since the results of the 2018 mid-term election were voided.

Republican North Carolina state Sen. Dan Bishop faces off against Democratic businessman Dan McCready in a bid to represent the battleground district.

McCready was the Democratic nominee during the original 2018 campaign but lost to Republican pastor Mark Harris, who himself narrowly defeated incumbent Republican North Carolina Rep. Robert Pittenger in the primary election. Harris defeated McCready by only 905 votes in the general, according to CNBC.

The state Board of Elections refused to certify the results, due to allegations of electoral fraud. Though the Board voted for a repeat election, Harris chose not to run again over health concerns, CNBC reported. Bishop won the resulting Republican primary.

Bishop was a sponsor of the state’s much maligned “bathroom bill,” which required individuals use only public restrooms consistent with their biological sex and not their gender identity.

The bill, supported by then-North Carolina Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, drew a firestorm of criticism and was a focal point of the gubernatorial campaign that McCrory ultimately lost.

President Donald Trump, alongside most of the Republican Party, has thrown considerable support behind Bishop, with one Super PAC pledging over $200,000 to the campaign.

Trump himself, tweeted out support for Bishop on Monday night, asking supporters to “Make it a great day for Republicans.”

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