By Molly Weisner
With North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District special election less than a month away, on Sept. 10, we’ve been following the various claims and messages sent by Democratic candidate Dan McCready and Republican state Sen. Dan Bishop.
One claim consistent with Bishop’s team is that McCready is soft on his stances, that he doesn’t have a firm agenda. Back in June, Bishop said in an interview that his opponent doesn’t answer questions forthright.
The same claim was made about a week earlier in a statement from Bishop’s campaign spokeswoman that “It’s time for Dan McCready to stop dodging the issues and tell the voters where he stands on key issues.”
Bishop and his team did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.
McCready also seemed to be running on a centrist platform in his earlier campaign appearances. Other media outlets have branded McCready as a moderate, which his opponents say means he’s noncommittal.
Yet, this is misleading. A cursory glance at both campaign websites show plans on 17 issues from McCready. Since McCready’s site first went up, a new section was added with his healthcare plan and national service plan.
Bishop’s on-the-issues section details an overview of eight issues. His site also includes the same claim against McCready in a section called “Where Dan Stands.”
There, Bishop says again, “[McCready] won’t take a position on any of the most important issues facing our country.”
More recently, the candidates’ viewpoints can be gleaned from their social media and public appearances.
McCready conducted an interview with our team, and held several town hall meetings in Richmond, Union, Cumberland, Bladen, Anson and Robeson counties, as well as a few live on social media. So far, McCready has done an education tour and an eight-county healthcare tour.
So, Bishop’s claims that McCready hasn’t taken stands on issues is false. To break it down, here are the stances McCready has taken over the last few months:
Healthcare
- The Democrat has said several times throughout his campaign that healthcare is the most pressing issue in the district. McCready said recently that he supports Medicaid expansion because the federal dollars used to pay for it would bring new jobs.
- In an interview with our team, McCready said Obamacare needed revamping, but he didn’t support a single-payer plan.
- McCready’s plan to lower prescription drug costs aims to protect pre-existing conditions, preserve rural healthcare, move away from the fee-for-service incentive model, support veterans’ health, close the ‘coverage gap’ and improve primary care.
- To keep prescription drug costs low, McCready’s plan cracks down on gag clauses that prevent pharmacists from talking to patients about cheaper alternatives. Here’s the whole plan.
Education
- A graduate of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district, McCready has expressed the need to equalize resources between lower-income school districts and the rest of the state.
- McCready wants to “pay teachers their worth, lower class sizes, and fund early childhood education and alternatives to four-year college degrees — alternatives like community college and job training programs.”
- During a recent town hall, McCready said, “It’s time to stop state Senator Dan Bishop’s war on our public schools and stand up for our teachers and students.”
Energy
- A self-proclaimed capitalist and entrepreneur in solar, he said in an interview with our team that he believes “in using business as a force for good so to build out clean energy jobs.” But energy is an issue for which McCready has taken heat with claims of conflict of interest. McCready said that his business invests in solar farms, but does not build them and does not outsource jobs or invest in Strata Solar, an energy provider based in Durham.
- McCready said that his solar energy farms represented “good business, good jobs, and lowered utility rates.”
- McCready also said he wants to grow clean energy jobs to 100,000 from 30,000 statewide.
- Despite this push, McCready has veered from some leading national Democrats, calling, for example, the Green New Deal “aspirational” and not the solution to growing that sector.
National Security
- McCready said he supports “asking every young American to give a year to our country, through civilian or military service.”
- He also said that, in the past, both parties have been too hasty in deploying troops to Iraq, so he wants to strengthen Congress’ responsibility in mediating when and how to send troops.
- In McCready’s National Service Plan, he cites the power of service to bring the nation together.
- McCready also said in a UNC FactCheck interview that he did not support going to war with Iran.
Those are the issues that have come up recently in McCready’s appearances and on social media, while the rest he has detailed on his issues page.
On abortion, McCready said he does not believe the government should intervene in a woman’s decision.
On gun control, the Democrat, a backer of the Second Amendment, nevertheless says he supports universal background checks and closing the loophole made by gun shows. McCready said in an interview with WFAE that gun shows allow anyone to buy weapons without limitations.
McCready has also said the border should be secured physically and technologically, according to an interview with WFAE in May. McCready, drawing from his former military experience, said infrared and surveillance technologically could help secure the border.
