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pastor Mark Harris — whose previous primary election win in 2018 was tossed out after an alleged election fraud scheme — has once again won the Republican nomination for a newly drawn US House district deemed as safely Republican.

FiveThirtyEight's Nathaniel Rakich tweeted that Harris officially won the Republican primary to replace outgoing Rep. Dan Bishop (R-North Carolina), who is now the GOP nominee for Attorney General in the Tar Heel State. Harris won the competitive primary in spite of a controversy from 2018 that resulted in the bipartisan North Carolina State Board of Elections calling a new election the following year.

In 2018, Harris narrowly won the general election to the 9th Congressional District by a little more than 900 total votes against Democrat Dan McCready. However, Leslie McCrae Dowless — a consultant who worked for his campaign — was alleged to have illegally handled absentee ballots, which is a felony. Dowless was described as a "shady character" by Harris' son, John, amid allegations that he engaged in similar underhanded practices with absentee ballots in 2016.

"Witnesses told state officials that Dowless, with help of his assistants, gathered hundreds of absentee ballots from Bladen County in 2018," the AP reported. "Those workers testified they were directed to collect blank or incomplete ballots, forge signatures on them and even fill in votes for local candidates."

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After investigators compiled a mountain of evidence suggesting Dowless was engaging in underhanded efforts to compromise absentee ballot voting, Harris pivoted from urging election officials to certify his victory to calling for a new election. He ultimately avoided criminal charges in the investigation.

"Through the testimony I've listened to over the past three days, I believe a new election should be called," Harris said at the time. "It's become clear to me that the public's confidence in the 9th District seat general election has been undermined to an extent that a new election is warranted."

But now, with his primary victory on Tuesday night, Harris is poised to cruise to a general election victory in the new district in spite of the scandal that rocked his political career six years ago. This is especially true given how GOP-friendly the district has become after the North Carolina Supreme Court adopted a map regarded as one of the most biased redistricting efforts in recent memory.

In late 2023, the Brennan Center for Justice reported that the Tar Heel State's highest court reversed a prior 2022 decision rejecting maps that were deemed unfair to voters of color. That decision notably came after a 2022 election in which two conservatives won two additional seats on the court, granted in response to a request from Republican state lawmakers. The new, more conservative court concluded that gerrymandering was a "political" question and that the judiciary didn't need to involve itself.

While the old maps each had seven predominantly Republican districts and seven Democratic districts, the new maps effectively erased four of those Democratic seats.

"The new map easily ranks, along with Texas’s, as one of the two most extreme congressional maps currently in place," the Brennan Center wrote. "Indeed, the Republicans’ new North Carolina gerrymander is so durable that even an exceptionally strong Democratic wave year (think 2018) would not dislodge it. Even under the rosiest of foreseeable scenarios, Democrats win at most 4 of 14 seats. Put another way, Democrats could win a solid majority of the ballots cast for Congress, but their candidates would win less than 30 percent of seats thanks to Republicans’ carefully engineered gerrymander."

In addition to Harris' victory, Republican Mark Robinson's victory in the GOP gubernatorial primary also made headlines on Tuesday night. Robinson has called the LGBTQ+ community "filth," and likened them to "maggots" and "flies." He also said the Covid-19 pandemic was a "globalist" plot to oust Donald Trump from the White House.

Mark Harris, Tainted by Fraud Allegations, Will Not Run in New

https://www.nytimes.com › 2019/02/26 › mark-harris-north-carolina-election

Feb 26, 2019 - Mark Harris, the North Carolina Republican who nearly won a seat in Congress ... less than one week after the North Carolina State Board of Elections ... face our nation,” said Mr. Harris, an evangelical pastor from Charlotte.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Harris_(North_Carolina_politician)

Mark Harris (born April 24, 1966) is an American pastor and politician from North Carolina. He ran as a Republican to represent North Carolina's 9th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives in the 2016 and 2018 elections.

In 2016, he competed in the Republican primary, narrowly losing to the incumbent, Robert Pittenger. Harris ran again in 2018, and this time he defeated Pittenger to win the Republican primary.

In the general election against Democratic opponent Dan McCready, initial tallies showed him winning, but the election panel refused to certify these results after investigating reports of ballot fraud involving McCrae Dowless, a Republican political operative employed by the Harris campaign. In February 2019, the bipartisan North Carolina Board of Elections dismissed the results of the election and called for a new election to be held. Harris declined to continue his candidacy.

Early life:{:(style="margin-right:0.25em"):}:[edit:{]}:

Harris was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on April 24, 1966.^[1] He attended local schools there before earning his bachelor's degree in political science from Appalachian State University. He earned both a Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.^[2]

Career:{:(style="margin-right:0.25em"):}:[edit:{]}:

Church service:{:(style="margin-right:0.25em"):}:[edit:{]}:

Harris served as the senior pastor of the First Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina,^[3] and as president of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.^[4]

Political career:{:(style="margin-right:0.25em"):}:[edit:{]}:

Harris ran for the United States Senate in the 2014 election, finishing in third place in the Republican primary behind Thom Tillis and Greg Brannon.^[2] He later ran against incumbent congressman Robert Pittenger for the U.S. House in 2016. The election was close; after a recount, Pittenger was certified the winner by 134 votes.^[5]

In January 2019, Harris was reported to have falsely set off a fire alarm, allegedly to avoid news media. Harris explained his actions by stating that he was rushing to catch a sports game.^[6][7][8] Falsely setting off a fire alarm is a class 2 misdemeanor under North Carolina law.^[9]

2018 congressional campaign:{:(style="margin-right:0.25em"):}:[edit:{]}:

Harris resigned from the First Baptist Church in 2017^[10] and ran again for the U.S. House in 2018.^[11] This time, Harris defeated Pittenger in the Republican primary (which featured a higher turnout than the 2016 primary).^[12]

Election fraud allegations[

Main article: 2018 North Carolina's 9th congressional district election

Following the November 6, 2018, midterm elections in North Carolina's 9th congressional district, initial tallies put Harris 905 votes ahead of his Democratic competitor, Dan McCready. McCready conceded on the day after the election, but the state Democratic Party filed affidavits with the state's board of voters claiming that Harris had used independent contractors to collect unsealed absentee ballots from voters and alter them before submitting them to the post office.^[13][14][15] The North Carolina Board of Elections voted 9-0 on November 27 not to certify the election.^[16]

Investigation[

The Board of Elections subsequently opened an investigation which centered around the activities of Leslie McCrae Dowless, who had felony convictions for perjury and fraud. Dowless had been employed by numerous campaigns of Republican candidates to orchestrate "get out the vote" efforts. The accusation is that Dowless, who was hired by the Harris campaign, paid workers to illegally collect absentee ballots from voters.^[17] According to The Washington Post, Harris directed the hiring of Dowless for his campaign even though Harris received personal warnings in 2016 that Dowless had almost certainly used questionable tactics to deliver absentee votes in rural Bladen county for Todd Johnson, another losing candidate in the District's Republican congressional 2016 primary.^[18]

While the allegations of irregularities were being investigated, Harris sought to have himself certified as the winner of the election.^[19] In January 2019, Harris filed a petition to have a court certify him as the winner of the election; Harris's petition was rejected that same month.^[20][21] That same month, Harris said "no evidence has been supplied that suggests the outcome of the race is in question"; The News & Observer disputed Harris's assertion, "It's extremely unlikely Harris knows the extent of evidence that has been submitted to the NC elections board."^[22] On February 9, 2019, Harris said "Democrats and liberal media have spared no expense disparaging my good name" and blamed "a liberal activist" on the Board of Elections for controversy surrounding the election. He described the alleged ballot-harvesting scheme as "unsubstantiated slandering."^[19] During the investigation, the North Carolina Republican Party declared "Mark Harris won the election"^[23] and called on the state elections board to certify Harris as the winner of the election,^[22] as well as defended Harris, describing him as an "innocent victim".^[24]

The outcome of the election was uncertified while state election officials investigated the alleged fraud.^[25][26] In early January, Republican party officials refused to send Democratic Governor Roy Cooper the names of their party's candidates to fill vacancies on the board. Responding to their actions, Cooper said, "If politicians and the people they hire are manipulating the system to steal elections, all of us should pull together to get to the bottom of it and stop it — regardless of whether the candidate who finished ahead in a tainted election is a Republican or a Democrat."^[27]

The North Carolina State Board of Elections held hearings February 18–21, 2019, in an effort to resolve the disputed election results.^[28] During those hearings, election officials complained that the Harris campaign had withheld incriminating documents.^[19][29] Lisa Britt, the daughter of Dowless's ex-wife, testified that under Dowless's direction, not only had absentee ballots been unlawfully collected from voters, but that in some cases Dowless's associates had filled in blank ballot votes to favor Republican candidates and had falsified witness signatures.^[30] Bladen County, where Dowless had operated, had been the only county in which Harris had prevailed over McCready in the absentee ballot results.^[31] Harris's son, who is a federal prosecutor, told the board that he had repeatedly warned his father about Dowless and that Dowless might be involved in illegal activities.^[19][31] Harris told the board that Dowless had assured him that his operation was legal.^[19]

Outcome[

The New York Times wrote that Harris "appeared to mislead" the board with some of his testimony. Harris later acknowledged that some of his testimony had been inaccurate, blaming his health problems as an explanation for his erroneous testimony.^[29][31] He then said that "It's become clear to me the public's confidence in the 9th District seat general election has been undermined to an extent that a new election is warranted." Harris's attorney David Freedman also said "we agree that the actions that occurred in Bladen County likely affected the election."^[19]

On February 21, the Board of Elections unanimously ordered a new election in the congressional race, and also ordered new elections in two other contests for local offices.^[32] The North Carolina Republican Party, which up until that point had been supporting Harris's prior demand to be certified as the winner of the election, also endorsed the call for the new election.^[2]

On February 26, 2019, citing ill health, Harris declared that he would not compete in the new election.^[33]

Political positions:{:(style="margin-right:0.25em"):}:[edit:{]}:

Education:{:(style="margin-right:0.25em"):}:[edit:{]}:

In 2014, Harris called for abolishing the U.S. Department of Education.^[34]

Federal budget:{:(style="margin-right:0.25em"):}:[edit:{]}:

Harris has stated that he would support a Balanced Budget Amendment and cited concern over what was at the time $19 trillion in debt and $120 trillion in unfunded liabilities.^[35]

In 2014, Harris supported reforming Social Security, including reducing the future Social Security payments for those who were currently less than 50 years old.^[36]

Religion:{:(style="margin-right:0.25em"):}:[edit:{]}:

Harris has described Islam as "dangerous" and the work of Satan. In 2014, he claimed that Islam was taking over the world, including the United States.^[37]

In 2011, Harris said in a sermon at First Baptist Charlotte that there would never be peace between Jews and Muslims unless they convert to Christianity.^[37]

During the 2018 campaign, American Bridge 21st Century, a Democratic super PAC that conducts opposition research, brought attention to a 2013 sermon that Harris had given where he questioned whether it was the "healthiest pursuit" for women to prioritize their careers and independence over their biblical "core calling".^[38]

Social issues:{:(style="margin-right:0.25em"):}:[edit:{]}:

Harris opposes the Supreme Court's ruling in Roe v. Wade which prohibits bans on abortion.^[38] He has stated that the Affordable Care Act has made healthcare more costly for businesses.^[35]

Harris led supporters of North Carolina Amendment 1, which banned same-sex marriage in North Carolina in 2012.^[39][40] The amendment was found to be unconstitutional by a federal court in 2014, and prohibitions on same-sex marriage were found to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court's Obergefell v. Hodges decision in 2015. After the Supreme Court ruling, Harris said, "one of the most devastating blows to the American way of life has been the breakdown of the family unit. A marriage consists of one man and one woman. The Supreme Court, in a 5–4 decision, decided otherwise."^[38]

Harris campaigned for the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act (commonly known as the "bathroom bill") in North Carolina in 2016, which stated that in government buildings, individuals (such as students at state-operated schools) may only use restrooms and changing facilities that correspond to the sex identified on their birth certificate. The bill sparked a widespread backlash and boycott, including by major U.S. firms. Amid the backlash, Harris adamantly argued against repealing the bill.^[38] The bill was eventually repealed and replaced with House Bill 142 on March 30, 2017.^[41]

Personal life:{:(style="margin-right:0.25em"):}:[edit:{]}:

Harris and his wife Beth have three children and six grandchildren.^[2]

12/18 unrelated?

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/north-carolinas-election-fiasco-about-voter-suppression-not-voter-fraud

https://www.alternet.org/election-03918/north-carolina-board-elections-report-new-details-election-fraud

Officials reveal new nefarious details in the apparent scheme to steal a North Carolina election for the GOP

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/anti-lgbtq-pastor-heads-to-congress-with-help-from-karen-pence-christian-nationalist-david-lane-trump-prophet-lance-wallnau

Harris, an anti-LGBTQ activist and pastor affiliated with the Family Research Council and supported by Christian nationalist David Lane, is apparently headed to Congress after winning an extremely close race in North Carolina’s 9th congressional district. Harris knocked off incumbent Republican Rep. Robert Pittenger in a primary upset in May.

Harris is a member of the Family Research Council’s “Watchmen on the Wall” network of right-wing preachers. And he’s a success story for Lane’s long-running campaign to push America toward his Christian-nation vision by getting conservative evangelical pastors elected to office; the Christian Broadcasting Network has described Lane as one of Harris’s “staunchest supporters.”

Lance Wallnau, who told evangelical voters that Trump had been anointed by God to be president, appeared with Harris online during a Trump campaign visit to Charlotte. Harris complained that his critics “cherry-picked” comments from his sermons about the role of women; he said his critics had miscalculated because a lot of people in his district “grew up with the Bible, still believe the Bible, and still stand on the Word.”

Harris also got a boost from Karen Pence, wife of Vice President Mike Pence; Karen Pence took part in a campaign event at which the Harris campaign was described as a “God mission,” and “Activist Mommy” Elizabeth Johnston said that Harris had looked her in the eye and told her he would work to end abortion, “no exceptions.”

As RWW has noted:

Not surprisingly, Harris has a track record of opposing LGBTQ equality and abortion rights. Harris was an ally of the anti-LGBTQ Benham brothers in opposition to a Charlotte nondiscrimination law, and he was a driving force behind the campaign that put a ban on same-sex couples getting married into the state constitution; his First Baptist Church contributed more than $50,000 to the campaign. Harris, who says being gay is “a choice,” has said the anti-equality amendment was not about discrimination but about .” …

He has praised new state-level restrictions on abortion and called for conservative Supreme Court justices who will revisit Roe v. Wade so that the law can recognize that “life begins with conception” and extend legal protections to the “unborn.”

Harris is seen on video complaining, “We have watched in one generation where homosexuality was once criminalized to now we see the criminalization of Christianity.”

In 2016 Harris signed an anti-Muslim statement that falsely claimed that “all terror groups … have 100% Muslim membership. Tragically, these terrorist entities are not aberrations of Islam, they are the very essence of it.” In addition, CNN reported this month that Harris has called Islam “dangerous” and the work of Satan, and showed his congregation a conspiratorial video advancing the claim that Islam is devouring Europe and planning to do the same to the U.S.

Tags: David Lane Karen Pence Lance Wallnau Mark Harris Anti-Abortion Anti-Choice Anti-Gay Anti-LGBT Christian Nation Church-State Election 2018 American Renewal Project Family Research Council

Right-wing pastor Mark Harris's midterm election "win" is now plagued by a voter fraud scandal that may lead to a new election for that U.S. House seat in North Carolina. A familiar figure at RWW, Harris's campaign had attracted deep support from some of the Religious Right's leading anti-choice and anti-LGBTQ voices.

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