CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Democrat Dan McCready is withdrawing his concession to Republican Mark Harris in the North Carolina 9th Congressional District race.
McCready posted a video on Twitter around 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
"I didn’t serve overseas in the Marines to come home to NC and watch a criminal, bankrolled by my opponent, take away people’s very right to vote. Today I withdraw my concession and call on Mark Harris to end his silence and tell us exactly what he knew, and when," McCready said.
Harris defeated McCready by just 905 votes. But the certification remains on hold while state officials investigate reports of tampering with absentee ballots.
On Wednesday, Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly called for an emergency hearing on fraud allegations coming out of the district. NBC Charlotte also confirmed the state board of elections subpoenaed GOP consulting group Red Dome Group based in Cornelius.
The Red Dome Group reportedly hired McCrae Dowless, the man accused of leading a scheme to collect absentee ballots in Bladen County. The political consulting firm was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by Republican Mark Harris.
House leaders are threatening to throw the entire election out. Michael Bitzer, political science professor at Catawba College, told NBC Charlotte it's a possibility.
"I feel like the momentum is pushing toward a new election to be called either by the state or the U.S. House of Representatives," said Bitzer.
There could be other places and elections that were tainted, including the primary where Harris beat incumbent Robert Pittenger.
Pittenger released a statement Thursday, saying he "prefers that all the facts and outcome be known prior to speculating on the Bladen County issue."
Some Republican lawmakers now question the ability of the state board of elections to conduct the investigation fairly. They're calling on the governor to create a new bipartisan task force.
North Carolina's law does allow for a new election if the results are tainted. The election board called for a public evidentiary hearing on or before December 21.
The State Board of Elections & Ethics Enforcement released a statement on December 7, saying "Leslie McCrae Dowless Jr. is a person of interest in connection with an alleged absentee ballot operation in the congressional district."
According to the Board, four State Board investigators with law enforcement experience are working full-time on this case.
The statement says that the State Board has issued subpoenas for documents to Red Dome Group, Mark Harris for Congress Committee and James Atlas McVicker Committee.
An evidentiary hearing is expected to be scheduled "as soon as possible," according to the release. WCNC will update this as more information becomes available.
