Scandal-Plagued Race in North Carolina Might Not Be Decided for Another Nine Months

A new election will take place this fall.

Mark Harris, Republican candidate in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District, testifies during a public evidentiary hearing on voting irregularities.Travis Long/AP

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New election dates have been set for the scandal-plagued congressional race in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District—but a winner may not be declared for another nine months.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections voted unanimously Monday to schedule a new primary for May 14. The general election will be September 10 unless no candidate receives 30 percent of the vote in the Democratic or Republican primary, in which case there will be a runoff primary on September 10 and the general election will be moved to November 5.

The seat has been vacant since January after the board of elections refused to seat Republican candidate Mark Harris following evidence that a consultant hired by his campaign had committed absentee ballot fraud to help Harris win by just 905 votes. In February, the board unanimously ruled that the race was tainted by election fraud and ordered a new election. A week later, the consultant hired by Harris, McCrae Dowless of Bladen County, was indicted along with four others for “unlawfully, willfully, and feloniously” mishandling absentee ballots during the 2016 general election and 2018 primary.

A federal investigation is ongoing into Dowless’ conduct during the 2018 general election, where he stands accused of not submitting absentee ballots that may have been marked for Democrat Dan McCready while filling out some ballots for Harris without voters’ consent. 

McCready has pledged to run again, while Harris will not. The district leans Republican but is now considered a toss-up.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

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