The truth came out last week that a 2018 Congressional race in North Carolina was tainted by voter fraud.
Ballot boxes were stuffed with mail-ins filled out by hired hands in an effort to sway the election in favor of Mark Harris, the Republican.
After a week of testimony, the story that emerged was uglier than first suspected.
It all began two years ago when Harris, a Baptist minister, lost in a close primary race for the Ninth Congressional District. Harris suspected voter fraud by the campaign of Todd Johnson, who ended up winning the seat.
With the help of his son, John, an attorney then serving as a clerk with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., the Harrises determined that Johnsons win was suspect. Two things stood out: the wide margin of mail-in ballots that favored Johnson and the fact that they arrived in batches from a Bladen County.
The younger Harris alerted his father that this smacks of something gone awry. But when the senior Harris lost the recount, he let the matter drop.
But not really.
In his decision to run for the seat again, Harris took a page out of Johnsons book and hired his former campaign operative, a Leslie Dowless, with the unscrupulous logic, if you cant beat them, join them.
When the younger Harris learned of the hire, he cautioned his dad that its a Class I felony for anyone but election officials to collect voters ballots and urged him to do a gut check on Dowlesss methods.
Perhaps Harris did, but found it wanting.
The senior Harris forthwith put Dowless on his payroll, after which Dowless proceeded to hire friends and relatives to fill out at least 1,000 mail-in ballots with Harriss name and toss out those of Democrats.
Harris feigned ignorance about such tactics as well as Dowlesss criminal record for assault on a woman and a felony conviction for fraud saying the brouhaha was the fault of the liberal media.
Yeah, yeah.
During the weeklong trial Harris never admitted any guilt, or remorse. And in fact has not ruled out running in the new primary election when determined by the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
Thats hubris personified.
Susan Lynn
