# NC-09 Special **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 9, 2019, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-09-special/839934 "2019-09-09T16:20:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![mjmlabs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mjmlabs/32/69_2.png) [@mjmlabs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmlabs)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2019, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-09-special/839934/41 "2019-09-11T02:18:07Z")
With only 5 Mecklenburg precincts remaining: Dan Bishop ® 93,725 Dan McCready (D) 89,486 ---
**Author:** ![mjmlabs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mjmlabs/32/69_2.png) [@mjmlabs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmlabs)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2019, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-09-special/839934/42 "2019-09-11T02:22:02Z")
2 precincts left to report: Dan Bishop ® 94,984 Dan McCready (D) 90,824 file under: Moral Victory CNN & AP have called it for Bishop. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2019, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-09-special/839934/43 "2019-09-11T02:26:46Z")
In Nov 2018, with election fraudsters working against him, McCready lost by ~900 votes. Tonight, he lost by ~4,000, and you want to call that a “Moral Victory”? The trend lines appear to be heading in the wrong direction for the dems. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2019, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-09-special/839934/44 "2019-09-11T02:43:24Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > In Nov 2018, with election fraudsters working against him, McCready lost by ~900 votes. Tonight, he lost by ~4,000, and you want to call that a “Moral Victory”? The trend lines appear to be heading in the wrong direction for the dems. It could be timing. It could be that special elections tend to get fewer votes, and it’s cranky old white folks who vote most regularly. Actually, scratch that. You’re right. Republicans have nothing to worry about next year. Have a beer, relax! ---
**Author:** ![mjmlabs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mjmlabs/32/69_2.png) [@mjmlabs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmlabs)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2019, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-09-special/839934/45 "2019-09-11T03:04:18Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > In Nov 2018, with election fraudsters working against him, McCready lost by ~900 votes. Tonight, he lost by ~4,000, and you want to call that a “Moral Victory”? The trend lines appear to be heading in the wrong direction for the dems. > [@Google](#): > > **mor·al vic·to·ry** > noun > noun: moral victory; plural noun: moral victories > > ``` > a defeat that can be interpreted as a victory on moral terms, for example because the defeated party defended their principles. > > ``` fnord! ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2019, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-09-special/839934/46 "2019-09-11T03:07:58Z")
What was the principle he was defending by losing again, this time by a larger margin? And could we pretty-please-with-sugar-on-top get him back in 2020 to “defend his principles” again? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2019, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-09-special/839934/47 "2019-09-11T03:11:45Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > What was the principle he was defending by losing again, this time by a larger margin? And could we pretty-please-with-sugar-on-top get him back in 2020 to “defend his principles” again? Probably not in the same district, no, given the likelihood that these intensely-gerrymandered federal congressional districts won’t stand up in state court any better than the state districts did. So enjoy Bishop while you got 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2019, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-09-special/839934/48 "2019-09-11T03:30:48Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > What was the principle he was defending by losing again, this time by a larger margin? And could we pretty-please-with-sugar-on-top get him back in 2020 to “defend his principles” again? Let’s go with “not cheating to win elections” for $400, Alex. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2019, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-09-special/839934/49 "2019-09-11T04:22:22Z")
Turnout was about 1/3 down on the mid-terms, would be interesting to crunch some numbers of relative historic turnouts in special elections of dem vs repubs and run a simulation. Would also be interesting to know how the turnout in this special election compares to others historically ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2019, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-09-special/839934/50 "2019-09-11T04:56:13Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > In Nov 2018, with election fraudsters working against him, McCready lost by ~900 votes. Tonight, he lost by ~4,000, and you want to call that a “Moral Victory”? The trend lines appear to be heading in the wrong direction for the dems. In Nov 2016, Trump won this district by 12%. Tonight, the Republican won by less than 2%. And this was after Republicans engaged in actual honest-to-goodness _election fraud_ in 2018. Fraud. Illegally tampered with ballots. And yet you feel Republicans are the big, noble winners in all this? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2019, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-09-special/839934/51 "2019-09-11T05:09:49Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > Let’s go with “not cheating to win elections” for $400, Alex. His opponent, Dan Bishop, defended that very same principle, and won. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2019, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-09-special/839934/52 "2019-09-11T10:50:58Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > His opponent, Dan Bishop, defended that very same principle, and won. Bishop defended Trump and no more and no less. He was chosen by the same NC GOP that tried to stop the new election and argued vociferously to seat Harris. Bishop to the best of my knowledge hasn’t once criticized those choices. Bishop is a tool. If you’re happy with the maniac wielding it, bully for you. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2019, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-09-special/839934/53 "2019-09-11T11:00:12Z")
Bottom line: the GOP managed to hold on to a district with an R+14 partisan advantage by 2 points, avoiding complete embarrassment. This is slightly less D enthusiasm in that district than was seen in the 2018 midterms but still better than the generic tracker would have predicted. It’s a D loss. And very worrisome for any Republican in a district with less than that 14 point partisan lean. D enthusiasm has not fallen off very much since last year. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2019, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-09-special/839934/54 "2019-09-11T11:28:40Z")
By running as the same party as the guy who was proven to have unambiguously cheated, Bishop was doing the opposite of “defending not cheating”. Accept it, **Ditka** : Your party is the party of crooks. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2019, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-09-special/839934/55 "2019-09-11T11:34:17Z")
If we’re to predict the 2020 results based on this single election, then 2020 will be very, very similar to 2018, which would probably mean a Democratic President and House and a Republican Senate. Of course, it’s silly to predict anything based on a single special election. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2019, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-09-special/839934/56 "2019-09-11T12:13:49Z")
I’ll look at the bright side- losing by 2 points in a district engineered to be safely red is a good sign. Donald can whistle by the graveyard all he wants, but the Grim Reaper awaits his candidacy. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2019, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-09-special/839934/57 "2019-09-11T13:40:57Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > By running as the same party as the guy who was proven to have unambiguously cheated, Bishop was doing the opposite of “defending not cheating”. > > Accept it, **Ditka** : Your party is the party of crooks. Meh, if we’re going to start blaming people for the sins of past party members, you guys have a long and storied history of racism to defend. Is that the game you want to play? “so-and-so is bad because someone in their party once did X”? Given the choice between being the party of crooks and the party of racists, I guess I’ll go with: vote for the crook, it’s important. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2019, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-09-special/839934/58 "2019-09-11T13:49:20Z")
Like crooks, racists, and credibly accused (and admitted) sexual assaulters? Why not try the Republican party – they have all three! Hell, they have all three in the White House! ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2019, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-09-special/839934/59 "2019-09-11T13:56:40Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > you guys have a long and storied history of racism to defend Seriously? :rolleyes: A. 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1968 Southern Strategy. B. Nobody’s “defending” history before that. Are you \*really \*trying to claim that’s new to you? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2019, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-09-special/839934/60 "2019-09-11T14:01:23Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Seriously? :rolleyes: > > A. 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1968 Southern Strategy. > B. Nobody’s “defending” history before that. > > Are you \*really \*trying to claim that’s new to you? I’m saying that Chronos’ “By running as the same party as the guy who …” formulation is moronic, and especially likely to backfire on the dems, given the racist history of their party. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-09-special/839934.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-09-special/839934.md?page=4)