In the face of overwhelming evidence of election fraud perpetrated to benefit Republican Mark Harris, North Carolina’s bipartisan Board of Elections has taken the extraordinary step of ordering a do-over of last year’s race for the state’s 9th Congressional District—and this time, we can win it.
Daily Kos is proud to endorse Democrat Dan McCready in the special election to fill this vacant seat.
Last year, McCready finished just 905 votes behind Harris in unofficial returns, but those results were so tainted that the state board refused to certify them. That led to a stunning set of hearings this week in which investigators meticulously laid out their case that McCrae Dowless, an operative working for Harris, had illegally collected absentee ballots from unsuspecting voters, then tampered with them by filling out uncompleted ballots before sending them in, and possibly even discarding some. Many of the targets of this operation appeared to be elderly black voters—and Harris had specifically sought out and hired Dowless because he knew of Dowless’ skill in operating schemes like this one.
Even Harris himself was forced to acknowledge reality and called for a new election after four days of scathing testimony from witnesses, including his own son, who had warned Harris against hiring Dowless and directly told him that harvesting absentee ballots was illegal. But just weeks ago, Harris was still blaming a conspiracy for his woes, railing, “The Democrats and liberal media have spared no expense disparaging my good name.” And he very likely caved only to avoid perjuring himself in his own testimony before the board.
Harris, in other words, is still a lying, thieving piece of scum who tried to steal an election by violating the rights of black voters. In the words of one board member, he “just wanted to win,” whatever the cost.
Dan McCready is the polar opposite. He’s a Marine veteran and Boy Scout who was inspired to join the military after 9/11 and went on to lead a 65-member platoon in combat operations in Iraq. After returning home, he founded a small business that has helped build dozens of solar energy farms throughout North Carolina, employing 700 people.
We can right this injustice: Give $3 to Dan McCready to help him win the special election!
He is, as you might imagine, passionate about the environment and fighting for clean air and water. He’s also fiercely opposed to big money in politics and wants to reverse Citizens United. And he’s eager to end gerrymandering and expand voting rights to bring democracy’s true promise to all Americans.
But gerrymandering is still a reality, and Republicans have drawn North Carolina’s 9th District to maximize every advantage. Even though McCready’s race was extremely close last year—in spite of the GOP’s fraud—Donald Trump still won this district by a 54-43 margin. That makes this decidedly red turf, and a special election will not be easy.
That’s why McCready needs all of our help—everything we can give. We know that Republicans sank to the worst depths to try to steal this race last year, so we have to be prepared for everything this time around. We don’t yet know the date of the election or whom McCready will face (it could be Harris again), but that’s why we have to act now to help him build up his war chest in preparation for the coming onslaught.
We have a remarkable chance to right a devastating wrong. Please give $3 to help Dan McCready win today.