The Republican candidate who is the subject of a North Carolina investigation for potential election fraud tried to flee journalists by running down an emergency exit staircase and setting off the fire alarm.
Mark Harris, who claimed victory in his state’s 9th Congressional District last November before allegations of absentee ballot irregularities surfaced, attempted to avoid unwanted press coverage after a GOP board meeting on Monday night held in a Charlotte, N.C., government building. The embattled politician told WBTV on Tuesday he regretted his actions, insisting he “absolutely” had “nothing to hide.”
“I think it was a rookie mistake, I think I probably should have just walked by you guys and said no comment,” Harris told the outlet. “I had my wife, I wanted to get to the national championship game that was going on, and we just … security had given us an option of going down the back steps.”
Another local station, WSOC-TV, published video of the incident online.
Despite Harris leading Democratic candidate Dan McCready by about 900 votes in an unofficial tally, the North Carolina State Board of Elections has declined to certify the result until its probe concludes. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., has said Democrats will refuse to seat Harris until the inquiry is finished.
Harris’ problems stem, in part, from his hiring of McCrae Dowless, a political operative who allegedly paid workers to illegally collect absentee ballots from voters.
