On behalf of an unknown client, Democratic pollster PPP has polled the May 14 GOP primary for the do-over special election in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District, offering us our first look at the race. The most notable finding is that the frontrunner is just barely clearing the 30% mark that would allow him to avoid a runoff. Here are the results in full:
- Dan Bishop: 31 (state senator)
- Stony Rushing: 17 (Union County commissioner)
- Matthew Ridenhour: 9 (former Mecklenberg County comissioner)
- Leigh Brown: 6 (former National Association of Realtors official)
- Kathie Day: 5 (real estate agent)
- Fern Shubert: 4 (former state senator)
- Chris Anglin: 3 (2018 state Supreme court candidate)
- Stevie Rivenbark: 2 (medical device company sales manager)
- Gary Dunn: 1 (perennial candidate)
- Undecided: 21
Bishop shot to prominence (and infamy) as the author of North Carolina's notorious anti-LGBTQ "bathroom bill," known as HB2, which sparked a massive boycott of the state and was a key factor in Republican Gov. Pat McCrory's ouster in 2016. It's no surprise, though, that GOP primary voters are still committed to Bishop's brand of politics—though it's telling that there's no mention of HB2 on his campaign website.
Bishop also began the race with another advantage: Most of his state Senate district is located in the 9th Congressional District, so he already represents about 18% of the latter. Since then, he's spent far more than his rivals: New FEC reports show that, in total, Bishop's campaign has laid out over $320,000 (with at least half that sum going to TV ads), while his nearest competitor financially, Brown, has spent only $93,000.
His nearest competitor poll-wise, Rushing, has spent even less—just $37,000. However, Rushing is the only other current elected official running, and his Union County makes up more than one-quarter of the 9th's population. He also has the (seemingly dubious, but apparently helpful) endorsement of Mark Harris, the Republican whose campaign's attempt to steal the election last year necessitate this re-do election.
If these results are accurate—and they hold over the final stretch of the campaign—then Bishop would square off against Democrat Dan McCready on Sept. 10. If, however, Rushing or another candidate can force a second round of voting, Sept. 10 would instead be given over to a runoff while the general election would get bumped to Nov. 5.
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