Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., the incoming chairman of House Republicans’ campaign arm, indicated Thursday that he would be open to a new general election in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District if the state election board concludes that election fraud swung the seat.
Emmer, who takes the reins of the National Republican Congressional Committee in January, said that he would go along with what North Carolina finds, including a possible new election in the state as officials continue to look into whether ballot harvesting swung the election to Republican Mark Harris. Earlier Thursday, Dallas Woodhouse, the North Carolina GOP’s executive director, said he would “fully support” a new election if it is shown that fraud could have changed the Nov. 6 outcome.
“It’s really important for the integrity of the system that that be addressed, and I would assume, based on what little I know of North Carolina law, that in the event that they see enough of that, they will call for a new general election,” Emmer said in an interview at NRCC headquarters Thursday.
Emmer, who is slated to take over for Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, atop the committee in January, pointed to past history in his home state with the 2008 Senate contest that saw former Democratic Sen. Al Franken defeat Republican former Sen. Norm Coleman.
“Nobody, and I don’t care if you’re a Republican, Democrat or you call yourself ‘other,’ nobody supports, should ignore or turn their eyes away from anything that is fraudulent or wrong,” said Emmer. “It’s the integrity of the system. I demand the same thing from Democrats as they would from us and I think this is a nonpartisan deal.”
In question is the 905-vote lead Harris holds over Democrat Dan McCready, who retracted his concession Thursday. Harris had been called the winner by many media outlets, but the state elections board has not certified the results of the race as they look into irregularities with absentee ballots.
Mail-in votes also came in heavy for Harris in the general election, particularly in Bladen County, while nearly 3,400 ballots were requested across the district ahead of Election Day — an extraordinarily high number. Many, however, were never turned in.
Emmer said that he has not spoken with Harris or Rep. Robert Pittenger, R-N.C., whom Harris defeated in the May primary and who blamed “ballot stuffers in Bladen [County]” for his primary loss.
The state elections board is expected to hold a hearing on the situation on Dec. 21.
