NC-09: Last cycle, Rep. Robert Pittenger won a three-way GOP primary with pastor Mark Harris by just a 35.0-34.5 margin, and Harris is seeking a rematch. The good news for Pittenger is that two of the problems that dragged him down in 2016 may not be factors this time. Back then, Pittenger was running in a district that was 60 percent new to him, and he was facing an FBI and IRS investigation related to his old real estate company over loans he made to his 2012 congressional campaign. However, Pittenger now represents 100 percent of the seat he's seeking, and the investigation ended in May without any charges.
However, Harris is still hoping Pittenger is weak, and he does have the resources to give him a tough campaign. Harris outraised the incumbent for much of 2017, though Pittenger picked up the pace in the final months. Still, Pittenger only had a $287,000 to $222,000 cash-on-hand edge over Harris, not a great showing. But Pittenger has already begun running ads trying to define Harris, who backed Ted Cruz in the 2016 presidential primary, as a Trump hater.
This seat, which stretches from southern Charlotte east to Fayettville, backed Trump 54-43, but it's another North Carolina seat Democrats hope could be gettable in a good year. National Democrats are excited about Dan McCready, who served in Iraq as a Marine and went on to start a business that finances North Carolina solar farms. McCready, who faces little primary opposition, has been a very strong fundraiser, and he ended 2017 with $931,000 in the bank.