ROCKINGHAM — Despite only carrying two of the eight counties in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District, former pastor Mark Harris came out on top in Tuesday’s mid-term election.
It was after 1 a.m. before the N.C. State Board of Elections showed all 210 precincts reporting, with Harris defeating Democratic opponent Dan McCready by fewer than 2,000 votes.
Preliminary numbers show 138,273 voters chose Harris,136,404 picked McCready and 5,037 opted for Libertarian Jeff Scott.
The only two counties to predominantly favor Harris were Union and Bladen. McCready won the majority in Richmond, Anson, Scotland, Robeson, Cumberland and Mecklenberg counties.
The race was closest in Richmond County with McCready leading by only 2 percent or 281 votes.
The Charlotte Observer reported that Harris proclaimed victory to a crowd in Monroe, but added that McCready had not yet conceded.
By 1:45 a.m., neither campaign had released a statement.
The current vote totals are unofficial and do not include provisional or absentee ballots, which will be added when votes are canvassed Nov. 16.
Since the margin of votes is less than 1 percent, McCready is entitled to ask for a recount.
The seat is currently held by Rep. Robert Pittenger, whom Harris defeated in the Republican primary earlier this year.
