Bret Baier on political implications of North Carolina special elections
GOP candidates sweep North Carolina special elections, giving President Trump a boost ahead of 2020; analysis from Bret Baier, anchor of 'Special Report.'
A special election in a conservative North Carolina congressional district won by an ally of President Trump was a win for Republicans, Bret Baier said Wednesday.
Appearing on “America’s Newsroom” with anchor Bill Hemmer, Baier noted that there was a lot of focus on the race particularly because a lot of people -- especially Democrats -- had “said this was going to be a bellwether” for the 2020 elections.
On Tuesday night, 55-year-old Republican Sen. Dan Bishop won the seat in a rare “do-over” election with the aid of the president who was stumping in Fayetteville, a military town at the far eastern fringes of the Ninth District.
Bishop bested centrist Democratic challenger Dan McCready, who had promised to seek compromise in Washington. McCready, 36, served as a Marine in the Iraq War and pledged to put country over party.
DEMS ADMIT TRUMP HELPED GOP CANDIDATES SWEEP NORTH CAROLINA SPECIAL ELECTIONS
In his victory speech, Bishop told supporters that he would go to Washington to protect the border, fight Democrats in the House and back the president’s agenda.
“Under this president, America is great again,” he said.
McCready said later in his concession speech, "As long as there are people who thrive off our division, there is still work to be done.”
On “America’s Newsroom,” Baier said: “This was a hard-fought race. There were $10 million from outside groups that went into this one little race.”
REP-ELECT DAN BISHOP CREDITS TRUMP FOR SPECIAL ELECTION WIN IN NORTH CAROLINA RACE
“And, it’s a victory for the Republicans and the congressman-elect is right that President Trump did push it over the top with that rally,” he stated.
Also on Tuesday, Republican State Representative Greg Murphy topped his Democratic opponent, and the former mayor of Greenville, Allen Thomas, in the 3rd House District.
Still, many are pointing out that suburbs are rapidly urbanizing an area that had long been GOP territory.
“The other side of the coin is that President Trump won this district by 12 points,” said Baier. “This was a two-point win: a significant win -- but, less than he won in 2016.”
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The president celebrated the wins on Twitter, writing: ”Greg Murphy won big, 62% to 37%, in North Carolina 03, & the Fake News barely covered the race. The win was far bigger than anticipated – there was just nothing the Fakers could say to diminish or demean the scope of this victory.”
“BIG NIGHT FOR THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!” he exclaimed.
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