NBC News pulled a North Carolina congressional seat out of the Republican column on Thursday as it increasingly looks like the race was stolen on behalf of GOP candidate Mark Harris.
According to MSNBC producer Kyle Griffin, “NBC News is no longer calling North Carolina-9, with the uncertainty around reports of potential fraud and McCready now withdrawing his concession.”
NBC News is no longer calling North Carolina-9, with the uncertainty around reports of potential fraud and McCready now withdrawing his concession.
This makes the count Democrats 235, Republicans 199 with 1 race to be determined. Dems have a net gain of 40 seats. —@NBCPolitics
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— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 6, 2018
NBC News’ decision to pull the race out of the Republican column comes as it looks increasingly clear that the seat was rigged against Democrat Dan McCready.
As CNN reported, “The case for election fraud appears to be strong. That’s because it’s doesn’t rely on just one or two pieces of evidence. Rather, it’s a slew of evidence.”
The report notes that a contractor that worked on behalf of the Republican candidate’s campaign collected and filled out hundreds of absentee ballots – an illegal practice. Given the slim 905-vote margin in the district, the scheme could have been enough to swing the election in favor of Harris.
Not so surprisingly, as Rachel Maddow pointed out this week, Republicans have been utterly silent on this massive scandal, stunning given how often they scream about nonexistent voter fraud.
When Republicans finally have a chance to tackle a very real instance of illegal vote rigging, they’re crickets.
The Democrats could see a final net gain of 41 seats
Earlier on Thursday, NBC News declared California Democrat TJ Cox the apparent winner in CA-21, marking the 40th pickup for Democrats in the House.
With the scandal in North Carolina heading toward further investigation and Democrat Dan McCready pulling back his concession, it’s possible that there will be enough evidence to overturn the rigged results in that district.
If and when that happens, Democrats would add another seat to their incoming House majority – a net gain of 41 seats and icing on the cake of what turned out to be a massive blue wave in 2018.
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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
