Politics & Government
Former Governor McCrory Says No To 9th District House Run
McCrory, who says he may be open to running for governor or senate in 2022, made the announcement Monday morning.
CHARLOTTE, NC — Days after election officials called for a new election for the currently empty 9th congressional district seat, Republican and former North Carolina governor Pat McCrory said he would not be running to fill it.
McCrory made the announcement Monday morning during his morning radio broadcast on WBT radio, the Charlotte Observer reported. “My fire in the belly is teaching and being a radio host and keeping the option open of running for governor or senator (in 2022),” he said.
North Carolina State Board of Elections voted unanimously Thursday to order a new election to fill the seat after details of of ballot fraud in the district prompted election officials to refuse to certify results after the November vote.
Find out what's happening in Charlottefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
RELATED: In Stunning Move, Harris Calls For New Election For NC House Seat
In the more than three months since Republican candidate Mark Harris narrowly bested Democratic challenger Dan McCready for the House seat by 905 votes, allegations and evidence have mounted indicating a political operative hired by Harris' campaign illegally manipulated the vote tally through absentee ballot fraud.
Find out what's happening in Charlottefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Harris has long denied knowing about the scheme and last month sued to force election officials to certify the results, claiming there wasn't enough evidence that the ballot tampering swayed the final result. On Feb. 21, however, and after days of testimony in a board of elections hearing on the matter including that of his son refuting his claims, Harris abruptly called for a new election.
Election officials have not yet announced dates for the new special election, however a primary could be held in May and a general election could be held in October, the Charlotte Observer said.
Harris has not publicly stated whether or not he will run again for the seat. McCready announced his campaign Friday.
(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
