President
Donald Trump, left, gives his support to Dan Bishop, right, a Republican
running for the special North Carolina 9th District U.S. Congressional race as
he speaks at a rally in Fayetteville, N.C., Monday, Sept. 9, 2019. (AP
Photo/Chris Seward)
In a major victory for both President
Trump and national Republicans, North Carolina GOP state Sen. Dan
Bishop was projected to win a fiercely contested special
U.S. House election for the 9th District that was widely seen as a
bellwether for the president's chances in the 2020 election.
And another Republican House candidate, Greg Murphy,
decisively won a separate special election in North Carolina's more solidly
GOP-leaning 3rd District earlier Tuesday evening — frustrating
Democrats who spent millions trying to make a splash in the state.
Even Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
(DCCC) Chairwoman Cheri Bustos acknowledged that the president contributed to
Bishop's win, writing in a statement, "We fell an inch short tonight, but
it took more than $6 million in outside Republican spending and a last-minute
Trump rally" to seal Democratic candidate Dan McCready's fate in the 9th
District.
The clean sweep heartened the president, who has long
emphasized the national implications at stake. Trump unloaded on
McCready in the fiery rally on Monday night, telling attendees
that "to stop the far-left, you must vote in tomorrow's special
election."
That effort, Trump said late Tuesday, had clearly paid
dividends.
"Dan Bishop was down 17 points 3 weeks ago,"
Trump wrote on Twitter. "He then asked me for help, we changed his
strategy together, and he ran a great race. Big Rally last night. Now it looks
like he is going to win. @CNN &@MSNBC are moving their big studio
equipment and talent out. Stay tuned!"
“The voters said
no to radical, liberal polices pushed by today’s Democratic Party,” Bishop said
in a victory speech.
GOP chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said the wins spelled trouble for Democrats in 2020, and
highlighted the importance of Republican National Committee (RNC)
efforts in North Carolina — where the party will hold its national nominating
convention in 2020.
"Despite being massively outspent by
Democrats, @realDonaldTrump rallied
voters and put Bishop over the top," McDaniel said. "A huge win for
the president and our grassroots field program that's working hard to elect
Republicans in 2020!"
The RNC had been active on the ground in North Carolina
working on the special elections since June. The party brought on nearly two
dozen full-time staffers and invested more than $1.5 million in the state,
while also making nearly a half-million voter contacts through phone-bank work
and door-to-door canvassing.
With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Bishop led
McCready by 3,937 votes, 96,081 to 92,144, in the race to represent
the 9th District. Bishop ran up substantial numbers in outlying
areas and McCready eroded GOP advantages in suburban areas.
In 2018, the Republican candidate, Mark Harris, defeated
McCready by a much smaller margin — just 905 votes, 139,246 to
138,341. State officials ordered the unusual special election earlier
this year, invalidating Harris' win after uncovering ballot fraud efforts.
“Congratulations to Dan Bishop on his definitive
victory tonight in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District," National
Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Emmer said in a statement.
-------
Greg Murphy won big, 62%
to 37%, in North Carolina 03, & the Fake News barely covered the race. The
win was far bigger than anticipated - there was just nothing the Fakers could
say to diminish or demean the scope of this victory. So we had TWO BIG
VICTORIES tonight, Greg & Dan!
-----
"North Carolinians rejected the Democrats’ socialist
agenda and elected a representative who will defend North Carolina values, and
will always fight for freedom and against socialism," he
added. "I look forward to working with Dan in Congress to hold the
Democrats accountable for their extreme agenda.”
...
Bishop and Murphy were evidently
boosted by a pair of visits to the district Monday by both
Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
At the rally Monday, the president specifically called
out McCready as a dangerous proponent of "sanctuary cities" and
rolling back gun rights.
"Just recently, Mecklenburg County set free an illegal alien charged with first-degree rape and
crimes against a child," Trump said, his voice rising. "Support
for sanctuary cities is disloyalty to American cities — and McCready wants
sanctuary cities, with all of their protections for people who are serious
criminals. Tomorrow is your chance to send a clear message to the
America-hating left."
Had McCready prevailed, it might have suggested GOP
erosion and raised questions about Trump's and his party's viability for 2020.
But Trump projected confidence early Tuesday evening
after Murphy was projected to soundly defeat Democrat Allen Thomas in the
separate special election in the coastal 3rd District to succeed
the late Rep. Walter Jones Jr.
"One down, one to go," Trump wrote on Twitter.
Meanwhile, McCready, a former Marine turned financier of
solar energy projects, had banked on the district's suburban moderates to carry
him over the top.
The 9th District, which stretches east from the
prosperous Charlotte suburbs into rural areas hugging the South Carolina
border, has been held by the GOP since 1963.
In 2016, Trump won the district by 11 percentage points.
As voters headed to the polls Tuesday afternoon, a
new balloting controversy surfaced briefly when North Carolina election
officials did not act on a request by the state Republican Party to extend
hours at a single precinct.
The state GOP asked that the voting site stay open an
extra hour and 45 minutes because they said some voters were showing up at
an old voting location in Union County, a Republican-heavy area east of
Charlotte.
The State Board of Elections met and discussed the GOP
request, but took no action.
However, by a 5-0 vote of the state board, one polling
site in Mecklenberg County was kept open 25 minutes past the 7:30 p.m. ET
closing time due to a reported gas leak.
Attendees
line up outside hours before President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally
in Fayetteville, N.C., Monday Sept. 9, 2019 (AP Photo/Chris Seward)
The 3rd District, where Murphy won easily early in the
night, was less closely watched because it was strongly expected to stay
Republican-controlled. Still, Republicans from the president on
down sounded the victory drums.
“Congratulations to Dr. Greg Murphy on his decisive
victory tonight in North Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District," Emmer
said in a statement.
"Dr. Murphy is a selfless servant who is dedicated
to conservative values," Emmer continued. "Today, North
Carolinians rejected the socialist agenda of the Democrats and voted for
freedom. I look forward to working with a consistent conservative like Dr.
Murphy in Congress.”
Greg Murphy was elected to Congress from
North Carolina's 3rd District Tuesday. (Molly Urbina/The Daily Reflector via
AP, File)
The 3rd district extends from the Virginia border
and Outer Banks to the Marine Corps' Camp Lejeune, and inland to Greenville.
Trump won the district vote comfortably in 2016, and Murphy said at a Trump
rally that he would have the "president's back" if elected.
Thomas is a former Greenville mayor who questioned
Murphy's "blind loyalty" to Trump.
Fox News' David Lewkowictz and The
Associated Press contributed to this report.
