Via the Star News of Wilmington: Republican David Rouzer calls for a recount in North Carolina's 7th Congressional District, trailing Democrat Mike McIntyre by 655 votes. This is the last remaining Congressional race, and what should be a solid win for Democrats considering Republican redistricting that saw us lose 3 (at least) seats in Congress.
Rouzer's quote:
"Considering this is the closest Congressional race in the country and in light of the irregularity previously found in Bladen County, which significantly reduced the vote margin at that time, I have decided to request a mandatory recount of the votes cast in the 7th Congressional District as allowed by law," Rouzer said in a news release Tuesday. "In a race this close, accidental human error could easily change the outcome. It is important to ensure that every legal vote cast is properly and accurately counted."
As I
noted yesterday, this will be a great win for us, considering the newly drawn district, however Mike McIntyre is about as "Blue Dog" as "Blue Dog" gets. So I won't be jumping for joy when we get the results, presumably around the middle of next week.
This is the last uncalled race, after Allen West conceded to Patrick Murphy earlier today.
Some more context, courtesy of the News & Observer of Raleigh:
Campaign spokeswoman Jessica Wood said votes in a precinct were accidentally double-counted.
But Bladen County Elections Director Cynthia Shaw said the Rouzer campaign was mischaracterizing a temporary glitch that didn’t change the outcome.
“I would appreciate it if the David Rouzer campaign called me,” Shaw said Tuesday morning. “They don’t know what they’re talking about.”
Shaw said 292 votes from a single precinct were accidentally counted twice after a battery in a computer card fell out. That led to the votes on the computer card being read in twice, she said. The duplication was discovered on election night and corrected then, Shaw said.
“I was able to go back in and correct it by a simple keystroke,” she said.
Shaw said she notified the state Board of Elections immediately. Of the 292 votes, 153 were cast for Rouzer, she said.
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/...
9:55 AM PT: Correction: It's not the last remaining uncalled race, but the last uncalled race that will impact the balance of power in the House. Hat tip to JamesGG for pointing this out below.