By Paige Masten and Ramishah Maruf
Democratic candidate Dan McCready conceded to Republican Dan Bishop Tuesday night after receiving 48.7 percent of the vote in the special election for North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District – about two percentage points lower than Bishop.
In his concession speech, McCready thanked his family, his campaign staff and his supporters.
“We may not have won this campaign, but that does not mean that we were wrong,” said McCready, who largely ran on health care and education while fending off attack ads from Bishop and national Republicans falsely claiming he was a socialist bent on open borders.
Among those making the claims was President Donald Trump, who rallied for Bishop on the eve of the election with Vice President Mike Pence.
McCready said that after 27 months of campaigning – both the initial and special runs combined – his plans for the next few days included sleeping in and taking his kids to get ice cream. He encouraged his supporters to get some rest, too.
“It’s okay to be disappointed,” McCready told supporters. “It’s okay to be exhausted. I know I am.”
In fact, the intensity of the election – which Democrats said turned out better than some suspected with McCready’s strong showing – was seen as a bellwether election for the next cycle and the campaigns and allies spent the second-most ever in a special election for the House.
McCready claimed that the initial 2018 9th District election was the “largest case of voter fraud in modern-day America.”
As previously reported by UNC FactCheck, the North Carolina State Board of Elections found that Leslie McCrae Dowless, a Bladen County political operative, committed voter fraud on behalf of Republican Mark Harris’ campaign.
Dowless hired employees to take absentee ballots, forge voter signatures and fill out vote choices for people.
“The people of North Carolina stood up and we faced down the full force of voter fraud and voter suppression,” McCready said.
Despite the loss, McCready’s speech maintained a positive tone.
On Twitter, he wrote: “We didn’t win this campaign, but there is no doubt that our efforts over the last 27 months moved our country forward.”
We didn’t win this campaign, but there is no doubt that our efforts over the last 27 months moved our country forward. To all of you who joined our historic effort that nearly flipped this deep red seat, here are my reasons to hold your head high.https://t.co/PQ3pPybsyi #nc09
— Dan McCready (@McCreadyForNC) September 12, 2019
And, to his supporters, he proclaimed that, “Victory postponed is not defeat.”
