NBC’s Chuck Todd expects new election in NC-9 because of fraud investigation

WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) - The investigation into potential election fraud in Bladen and Robeson counties has grabbed national headlines. Chuck Todd, the moderator of Meet the Press, the long-running public affairs program on NBC, said Friday many pundits in Washington, DC are expecting a new election in North Carolina’s Ninth Congressional District as a result.

“Many of us in Washington, and many who work in the political campaign world, are no longer speculating on whether there will be a new election in North Carolina's Ninth District, but trying to figure out when is the new election going to be,” Todd said from the studios of his weekly show. “It seems inevitable that this is going to happen.”

The man at the center of the investigation, McCrae Dowless, worked for Republican Mark Harris’ campaign in the 2018 race against Democrat Dan McCready. Harris won the race by 905 votes, but the State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement has refused to certify the results because of the allegations of ballot tampering.

The General Assembly passed a bill mandating a new primary election take place if the State Board rules a new general election must happen because of fraud. Todd says he’s spoken with some Republicans who are concerned that if Harris would get the nomination again, he couldn’t win in the wake of this incident.

“I think the assumption and the hope with some Republicans to make sure they have the strongest candidate they can find, is that mandating a primary makes it a little bit more difficult for Mark Harris to get the nomination,” Todd said.

You can watch Todd’s weekly “Meet the Press” show Sunday mornings on WECT.

Copyright 2018 WECT. All rights reserved.