RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Mark Harris broke down at the State Board of Elections hearing as his son John was on the stand Wednesday.
- As the investigation into possible election fraud continues in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District, we've compiled our coverage on it here.
- Day 2 of District 9 Hearing Wraps Up, Harris to Take Stand Wednesday
- Day 1 of District 9 Hearing Wraps Up; Dowless Refuses to Testify Without Immunity
John's testimony showed emails and phone conversations from 2017 where he raised questions and concerns about McCrae Dowless, who is under scrutiny for his absentee ballot program in Bladen and Robeson County.
John Harris says he has no vendetta against his father and believes that mistakes were made.
One of the key characters in this investigation is Andy Yates. He is a consultant paid by the Mark Harris campaign to hire Dowless.
Yates was on his second day of testimony, on the stand for well over five hours. He was clear Tuesday that he was unaware of any potential wrongdoing in the case.
Wednesday morning, the attorneys for the two candidates spent time questioning Yates, much of that centered around why Yates didn't know that Dowless had a criminal background.
Yates says he was unaware that McCrae Dowless's first name is actually Leslie and that is why he did not find any past criminal activity for him, but says he would not have worked with Dowless if he knew of his past fraud conviction.
The McCready campaign is looking to show this entire election was tainted and needs to be redone. The Harris campaign is trying to show that while there may have been irregularities, it shouldn't affect the entire race.
Those are decisions the state board will have to make when this hearing over, which is likely to be Thursday.