Pastor Mark Harris has upset Rep. Robert Pittenger
Robert Miller PittengerBottom Line North Carolina reporter says there could be 'new crop' of GOP candidates in 9th Congressional District race North Carolina board calls for new election in contested House race MORE (R-N.C.) in his Tuesday primary, toppling the incumbent congressman after nearly defeating him in a primary two years ago.
Pittenger conceded the race late Tuesday night, telling his supporters he had called Harris.
The victory sets Harris up for a tough general election fight that could draw outsized attention.
Harris mounted one of the toughest primary challenges to any incumbent congressman against Pittenger in 2016, when he fell just short of beating him. But this time, Harris was able to clear the bar after blasting Pittenger for departing from conservative orthodoxy on issues like the national debt and attacking Pittenger as a stalwart supporter of GOP leadership.
Pittenger had sought to push back by highlighting a voting record he described as in sync with Trump’s agenda and wooing prominent Republicans into the state to lend a hand with fundraising.
Donald TrumpNoem touts South Dakota coronavirus response, knocks lockdowns in CPAC speech On The Trail: Cuomo and Newsom — a story of two embattled governors McCarthy: 'I would bet my house' GOP takes back lower chamber in 2022 MORE won by 11 points in 2016, and the district hardly has a history of voting for a Democrat. So Republicans are banking that Harris, the political newcomer, can mount yet another strong race in the fall. 