President Trump announced in a tweet on Thursday that he will hold a rally in North Carolina to support Republican candidate Dan Bishop, who is running against Democrat Dan McCready in a September 10 special election in the state’s Ninth Congressional District.
The president blasted Bishop’s opponent, whom he did not name, saying he “wants Open Borders, Sanctuary Cities, and Socialism.”
He also tied McCready, the Democrat candidate, to the far-left politics of four first-term Democrat House members known as the “Squad”: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA):
Looking forward to soon being in North Carolina to hold a big rally for wonderful Dan Bishop, who is running for Congress. His opponent wants Open Borders, Sanctuary Cities, and Socialism. He likes the “Squad” more than North Carolina. Dan has my Full and Complete Endorsement!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 22, 2019
The president did not specify when the North Carolina rally in the Ninth Congressional District will be held, but presumably, it will take place prior to the September 10 special election.
As Breitbart News reported this week, the special election in NC-09 is seen as a bellwether for the 2020 election, both for the presidency and control of the U.S. House of Representatives:
The seat has been vacant since the 116th Congress convened in January, the consequence of a lengthy dispute that involved allegations of election irregularities on the part of the campaign of the 2018 Republican nominee, Dr. Mark Harris, who chose not to run in the 2019 special election.
With two vacancies, Democrats currently have a 235 to 197 advantage in the House of Representatives now that one former Republican–Rep. Justin Amash (I-MI)–left the GOP in June and is identifying as the sole independent in the lower chamber of Congress.
Both of the two vacancies–NC-03 and NC-09–will be filled in special elections on September 10. NC-03 is expected to go in the Republican column.
That would bring the Democrat margin in the House over Republicans to 235 to 198.xA Republican victory in NC-09 by Bishop would narrow that margin to 235 to 199, meaning the Republicans would need only a net gain in 2020 of 19 seats to obtain a 218 to 217 majority in the House.
In contrast, a Democrat victory in NC-09 by McCready would increase that margin to 236 to 198, meaning the Republicans would need a net gain in 2020 of 20 seats to obtain a 218 to 217 majority in the House.
A poll of the race conducted by JMC Analytics in May showed Bishop with a 4 percent lead over McCready, 46 percent to 42 percent, which was within the poll’s 5.3 percent margin of error.
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