Donna Brazile sees 'good news' for Democrats in North Carolina special election defeat
The fact that Dan McCready came within 2 points of Republican Dan Bishop in a 'ruby red' district is a positive sign for Democrats, says Fox News contributor Donna Brazile, former interim chair of the Democratic National Committee.
Fox News contributor Donna Brazile disputed Wednesday the idea that a Republican victory in a special House election spelled bad news for Democrats.
In a closely watched race in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District, Republican Dan Bishop defeated Democratic candidate Dan McCready by two points. But Brazile, former interim chair of the Democratic National Committee, emphasized the large margins of victory in the district by Republican Mitt Romney in 2012 and Donald Trump in 2016.
"This is a really ruby-red district. Mr. Romney carried it by 12 points, Mr. Trump carried it by 12 points. The fact that Mr. McCready came within two points, that's good news for Democrats," she said on "America's Newsroom," advising Democrats to show up in rural areas in 2020 and share their message, especially with minority voters.
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In 2018, the Republican candidate, Mark Harris, defeated McCready by a much smaller margin — just 905 votes, 139,246 to 138,341. State officials ordered the unusual special election earlier this year, invalidating Harris' win after uncovering ballot fraud efforts.
Dan Bishop appeared on "Fox & Friends" Wednesday following his victory and credited President Trump with helping him across the finish line. Trump appeared with Bishop at a rally Monday night in Fayetteville.
"[Trump] was a tremendous help," he said. "We really only were competitive in terms of funding for about six weeks. So the president and the vice president stepping in and committing the way they did to this race was tremendous. And a lot of credit goes to the president."
Bishop praised Trump's fighting spirit and said American voters usually respond well to leaders who speak plainly, and directly.
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"There's no question that the president's last-minute visit did help to boost turnout," Brazile said.
She added that Trump has "struggled" to build momentum going into next year's election and Democrats can take advantage in suburban areas and with female voters.
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