This week, we have seen virtually irrefutable evidence of election fraud in NC-09—possibly one of the most staggering and ham-handed cases of election fraud uncovered in recent memory. It is now clear beyond any doubt that Republican Mark Harris’ apparent win was tainted by blatant and criminal irregularities with absentee ballots overseen by McCrae Dowless, an independent contractor for Harris’ main consultant. Among other things, we’ve gotten reports of ballots collected before being sealed, incomplete ballots being filled in, and some ballots even being thrown away when they should have been sent to Raleigh.
In case you missed it yesterday, CNN’s Drew Griffin reported that at least 1,000 absentee ballots appear to have been destroyed—which, if true, would far exceed Harris’ 905-vote margin over Democrat Dan McCready. That report appears to have shaken some of the scales off the eyes of North Carolina GOP executive director Dallas Woodhouse, who now says he is willing to support a new election if there’s evidence the fraud could have affected the race.
Through it all, Harris has been in radio silence. He hasn’t spoken up, or posted anywhere on social media, since Saturday. But McCready is speaking up—and loudly. Earlier this afternoon, he sat down with Joe Bruno of WSOC-TV in Charlotte—who has pretty much owned this story locally—and announced that he is withdrawing the concession he made on the day after the election.
McCready told Bruno that he was stunned to hear that the state board of elections refused to certify the results in NC-09. But in light of the mounting evidence, he felt he could no longer remain silent.
"Over the last week, we have seen the criminal activity come to light, and we have seen that my opponent Mark Harris has bankrolled this activity," McCready said. "As of today, I am withdrawing my concession to Mark Harris and, furthermore, I call on Mark Harris to tell the people exactly what he knew and when he knew it."
McCready went as far as to say that he believes Harris knew about the fraud, saying that he couldn’t see how Harris could “receive daily reports on the number of absentee ballots” and not know what was going on. He also believes that anyone who engaged in criminal activity must be prosecuted, and has called for a new election if there was indeed fraud involved.
Soon after returning home, McCready posted a message to his followers reiterating that the race is back on.
He has also reopened his war chest—a smart move, given the near-certainty that there will be a new election. Click here to donate.