Congressional elections in Mecklenburg County look different this year, thanks to new maps drawn by Republican lawmakers. Rather than being equally split into two districts, the county is now carved rather unevenly into three parts
Two of those districts — Districts 8 and 14 — group parts of Mecklenburg County with other counties and lean Republican.
District 8
This district extends all the way from Matthews and Mint Hill to Robeson County. And with U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop running for state attorney general, there’s no incumbent.
One of the candidates in this race is still familiar, though: pastor Mark Harris, who is making a second congressional run. Harris ran in the 9th Congressional District in 2018, but his victory was overturned due to an absentee ballot fraud scandal involving a political operative hired by his campaign. Harris, who did not respond to an interview request from the Editorial Board, now says that the 2018 election was stolen from him, despite all evidence to the contrary. He also boasts the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, another election denier. As we said during the primary, we believe that narrative is dangerous and disqualifying.