State Sen. Dan Bishop (R) won the Republican primary in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District special election with 48 percent of the vote in a field of 10 candidates. It was the largest Republican primary field in the district since 2012.

 

With Bishop receiving more than 30 percent support, a Republican primary runoff is unnecessary and the general election will be held on September 10.

 

Union County Commissioner Stony Rushing (R) came in second with 20 percent of the vote. Club for Growth, which endorsed Bishop, spent more than $78,000 on ads against Rushing.

 

The National Association of Realtors was the biggest spender in the race, putting $1.3 million into TV and radio ads supporting realtor Leigh Thomas Brown (R). She came fourth in the race behind former Mecklenburg County Commissioner Matthew Ridenhour (R) with 9 percent support.

 

Bishop will face Dan McCready (D) in the general election. McCready, the Democratic nominee in 2018, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

 

The special election was called following an investigation by the state Board of Elections into alleged absentee voter fraud in the 2018 election.