Candidate once accused of election fraud wins North Carolina House primary

North Carolina Republican Mark Harris, whose previous election to Congress in 2018 was thrown out after credible allegations of election fraud, won a GOP primary for a newly drawn House seat.

Harris defeated a slew of other candidates in the race to replace GOP Rep. Dan Bishop, who is running for state attorney general. Because the seat is solidly Republican, Harris, who was never charged criminally, is heavily favored to win the general election in November. Harris was endorsed by the political arm of the House Freedom Caucus.

Establishment donors funneled some $2 million into two super PACs to block Harris from winning. But their efforts were unsuccessful. He bested state Rep. John Bradford, who had an endorsement from Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), and former Union County Commission Allan Baucom.

Bishop beat Democrat Dan McCready in the 2019 redo election that the state held after Harris’ 2018 campaign was tainted by allegations of election fraud. But the district has been redrawn since that election.