The Winner

If you live in North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District, Rep. Mark Harris (R-NC)) will keep representing you after a race far closer than his first win two years ago. The Associated Press called the race for Harris on Friday, Nov. 6, more than two days after polls closed. With all precincts reporting in unofficial State Board of Elections results, Harris had 147,094 votes, or 50.4%, to 141,915 votes, or 48.6%, for Democrat Colby Watson, according to NC Political News. ​

That 5,179-vote margin is less than 2 points, and Green Party candidate Bo Whitehead took about 1%. Watson called Harris to concede, Harris said in a statement reported by North State Journal.

The Race

Watson is a business owner from Monroe. He won the March 3 Democratic primary with 47.9% over Kevin Clark and Jesse Oppenheim, according to Ballotpedia’s primary results).

The race was a sharp swing from 2024, when Harris won the open seat over Democrat Justin Dues, 59.6% to 40.4%, a margin of about 19 points. Before this election, Cook Political Report and Inside Elections rated the seat Solid Republican, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball rated it Safe Republican, according to Ballotpedia.

The district stretches from the Charlotte suburbs in Mecklenburg and Union counties east to Robeson and Scotland counties, according to WPDE. Its communities include Monroe, Indian Trail and Lumberton.

The district has about 765,300 residents, a median household income of $81,200 and a median age of 39.8. About 35% of adults hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, unemployment is 4.9% and 12.1% of residents live below the poverty line. Residents are 61.6% white, 16.9% Black, 9.7% Hispanic and 4% Asian.

What’s Next

Harris’ second term begins Sunday, Jan. 3, and he will serve in the minority after Democrats won control of the House. He sits on the Agriculture, Education and the Workforce, and Judiciary committees. During the campaign, he said he would keep working to cut unnecessary regulations and help farmers and small businesses, according to Axios Charlotte.

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