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RALEIGH, NC (AP) – Legislation passed this week by lawmakers in North Carolina would allow Republicans to get rid of their candidate in a race in the US House still undecided, tainted with allegations of fraud by ballot.
Lawmakers fear that Mark Harris will be damaged and want to have the opportunity to nominate another Republican candidate, "said Carter Wrenn, agent and Republican advisor to former US Senator Jesse Helms and others for more than 40 years. "That's how I read these tea leaves."
If the state election committee decides that voting irregularities or other issues cast doubt on the final outcome and force a decision, the bill – if it's allowed to become a law of Democratic Governor Roy Cooper – would require new primary elections in the 9th Congressional constituency, in addition to a new general election .
This would give Republicans another look at Mark Harris, the Republican who led Democratic Dan McCready to 905 votes with unofficial results. Harris has not been certified winner and an investigation is examining the missing ballots in rural Bladen County and is looking into whether the unsealed ballots illegally handled by collection teams could have been altered.
Bladen was the only out of the eight counties in the 9th district where Harris won a majority of McCready's postal votes.
The state representative, David Lewis, Republican of Harnett County, said that the holding of new primary elections in the 9th district made sense, since unusual results in voting by correspondence also took place last May. Harris won 96% of the postal votes in Bladen County as he won a close victory over Rep. Robert Pittenger.
The Republican-led General Assembly "has a political motive to do so. They realize that Mark Harris is a damaged candidate and are trying to find a way to replace him on the ballot, "said US Representative G. K. Butterfield, Democrat of North Carolina. "So, in my opinion, it's a preemptive strike to fire Mark Harris and name another candidate."
New primaries would open the door for Pittenger or whoever would wear the banner Republican vs. McCready or Some Other Democrat.
Pittenger said he wanted to wait until the elections committee unveiled its findings of investigation at a hearing that was postponed from Friday to January 11th. , which means that the seat will remain empty at the congressional meeting on January 3.
"I've been receiving calls from a number of friends in recent days." My instinct is I just think we should wait for this evidence hearing and let all the facts come out, and then, after that, maybe I can pay more attention to that, "he said in an interview on Friday.
The Republican Party's executive director, Dallas Woodhouse, said that if there were to be a new primary election, the GOP would remain neutral, but "every candidate who goes into the primary, if there is one, one, will have a chance to argue his case. "
In an interview with WBTV on Friday, Harris refrained from criticizing the party officials when he was asked for it. felt attacked by Republican compatriots. "Well, I certainly do not think the cars are turning around Harris as I see the Democrats around McCready," Harris said.
Democrats could sue if the primaries get started, said Butterfield. Pittenger and other Republicans did not contest Harris's candidacy, although suspicions about the Bladen County ballot were raised at the time, said Butterfield.
"That's fundamentally unfair to a candidate who has collected and spent millions of dollars in anticipation of Mark Harris as an opponent, having to review this with a different opponent, "said Butterfield." Dan McCready should not have to face two different adversaries. "
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