The leader of the North Carolina Republican Party indicated he would support a new election in the state's 9th Congressional District should the allegations of fraud regarding ballot issues be found to be true.
Election officials have yet to certify the race between Republican Mark Harris and Democrat Dan McCready due to allegations of fraud concerning mail-in ballots focusing on an operative working to help Harris' campaign.
"If they can say with a strong degree of certainty that the outcome of the race was changed or there is a substantial likelihood that it could have been, the law requires that there be a new election, and we would not oppose," Dallas Woodhouse, who has been the GOP's executive director in the state since 2015, told NPR in an interview.
McCrae Dowless, the operative in question, who reportedly received payment from a consulting firm Harris hired to help get out the vote. He turned in roughly half of the absentee ballots requested in Bladen County. Harris won 61 percent of mail-in ballots that had been received, although only 19 percent those were turned in by registered Republicans. Witnesses claim Dowless paid multiple people to collect ballots, which is illegal in North Carolina.
Dowless declined to comment to NPR.
He told NPR on Monday "this is funny business on the part of Democrats, in part to try and steal this race," but more information about Dowless has since come to light.
"What we know is the people down in Bladen County are scoundrels," Woodhouse said. "But there's no way Mr. Harris knew. He is a man of honor, and integrity, and we stand by him personally."
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