Hours before voters in North Carolina's 9th District (Charlotte) begin lining up at the polls, there is one certainty about the nationally watched special U.S. House election there: a win by Democrat Dan McCready will be interpreted widely by the media as a sign President Trump is in trouble.
But, should Republican State Sen. Dan Bishop emerge triumphant on Tuesday night, will the outcome in North Carolina be interpreted by the press as a triumph for Trump as well?
Hardly. The 9th has a history of being one of the most durably Republican House districts in the South, having sent a Republican to the House since 1952 without interruption.
In addition, both Trump in 2016 and Mitt Romney in 2012 swept the 9th by 12 percentage points. All signs, then, point to a Republican victory as par for the course under normal circumstances.
According to a just-completed RRH Elections poll from last week, Bishop leads businessman McCready, 46% to 45%. The same poll showed Libertarian Jeff Scott at 2% and Green Party nominee Allen Smith at 1% — a warning sign that minor party candidates just might be the difference.
Tar Heel State sources who spoke to Newsmax agreed that McCready is running a decidedly non-liberal campaign and avoiding the far-left national positions — abortion on demand, universal healthcare, abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) — that are typical of most of his party's presidential hopefuls.
"In former Marine Dan McCready, the Democrats have fielded the prototype moderate candidate for a usually reliable Republican district," veteran North Carolina political analyst Marc Rotterman told us.
Rotterman noted that "the president has spent a great deal of political capital on behalf of Dan Bishop and Bishop and his advisors insist this race is about President Trump."
Phil Kirk, President and CEO Emeritus of the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce, agreed.
"McCready sounds like a Republican," Kirk told us. "He is talking about working with Republicans and his service in the Marine Corps. His ads are impressive, highlighting him as a churchgoer, family man, and veteran."
Kirk recalled that as the Democratic nominee in 2018, McCready promised not to support Nancy Pelosi — a moot point now, but significant about the kind of candidate McCready is. (Last fall, McCready lost by less than 1,000 votes to Republican Mark Harris, who subsequently admitted to engaging in illegal practices to collect absentee votes. The results of the election were voided and the special election was called.)
Bishop is a swashbuckling conservative on economic and cultural issues who has been likened to former Rep. Robert K. Dornan, R-Calif. In the senate, Bishop sponsored H.B. 2, the controversial "bathroom bill" that critics say discriminated against transgender people. In this campaign, he has stumped as a vigorous Trump-style conservative on illegal immigration and a backer of gun rights.
Veteran election analyst Jay O'Callaghan pointed out to us that "the district is Republican, and demonstrated this in the last two presidential elections. It will be close, but Bishop should win.
Asked if the president's Monday night visit on Bishop's behalf would push the Republican over the finish line, O'Callaghan simply replied: "Only time will tell."
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.