Dan McCready

Last updated

Dan McCready
Personal details
Born
Daniel Kent McCready

(1983-07-18) July 18, 1983 (age 41)
Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Political party Democratic
SpouseLaura
Children4
Education Duke University (BA)
Harvard University (MBA)
Military service
AllegianceFlag of the United States.svg  United States
Branch/serviceFlag of the United States Marine Corps.svg  United States Marine Corps
Years of service2005–2009
Rank Captain
Battles/wars Iraq War

Daniel Kent McCready (born July 18, 1983) is an American veteran, entrepreneur, civil rights activist, and former political candidate from Charlotte, North Carolina. He served in the United States Marine Corps, achieving the rank of captain.

Contents

McCready was the Democratic Party nominee for the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina's 9th congressional district in the 2018 election. Initially it appeared that Republican Mark Harris won narrowly. The bipartisan state election board completed an investigation into allegations of ballot fraud by Republican operatives and declined to certify the election and called for a special election to fill the seat. McCready lost the special election to Dan Bishop on September 10, 2019.

Early life and education

McCready is from Charlotte, North Carolina, and graduated from Myers Park High School in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools system. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Duke University in 2005. [1] He then served as a captain in the United States Marine Corps and was deployed to Iraq in 2007 and 2008, where he led two platoons. [2] [3] Following his military service, he returned to university for graduate work, earning a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Harvard Business School. [4] [5]

Career

After earning his MBA in 2011, McCready worked for a year as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company. [6] He left the company in 2013 to cofound Double Time Capital, a solar-focused clean energy fund, with partner Rye Barcott. [7] [8] As of February 2017, "Double Time has financed 36 solar energy projects, which collectively produce roughly 10% of North Carolina's solar power and power around 30,000 homes in the state." [9] At that time, North Carolina was the second ranked state in the United States based on the cumulative amount of solar electric capacity installed. [10]

In 2014, McCready founded This Land, an online store for American crafts that highlighted the work of skilled craftspeople from economically depressed areas who otherwise do not have the means to market their products to broad audiences. [11] [12] In 2017, McCready announced that he would be closing the site in order to focus on his campaign for US House of Representatives. [13]

2018 U.S. House of Representatives election

In May 2017, McCready announced his candidacy for the United States House of Representatives in North Carolina's 9th congressional district . [14] On May 8, 2018, McCready easily won the Democratic Party primary election [15] while former pastor Mark Harris unseated incumbent representative Robert Pittenger in the Republican primary. [16] The New York Times described the race between Harris and McCready as a "top-tier contest". [17] A CBS News story called the race "one of the most competitive". [18] On election day, unofficial vote tallies showed Harris defeating McCready by 905 votes, but on November 27, 2018, the North Carolina State Board of Elections and Ethics Reform declined to certify the election results, citing voting irregularities involving absentee ballots in the eastern part of the district. [19] [20] The irregularities became the subject of a criminal investigation into an alleged ballot harvesting scheme to elect the Republican Harris. It was orchestrated by Republican political operative McCrae Dowless in Bladen and Robeson Counties. [21]

The Associated Press subsequently retracted calling the race, pending the ultimate decision of the state board of elections. On November 30, the election board of the district decided to hear evidence about "claims of numerous irregularities and concerted fraudulent activities" at a meeting to be held by December 21, which was subsequently delayed to January 10, 2019, after the new Congress was scheduled to be seated. [22] [23] [24] McCready withdrew his earlier submitted concession on December 6. [25] In February 2019, the bipartisan election board unanimously determined they would not certify the results because of ballot fraud by Republican operatives. They called for a special election to be held. The state legislature passed a law requiring new party primaries.

2019 U.S. House of Representatives special election

The election board called a special election to be held for this congressional seat. [26] A newly passed law by the North Carolina General Assembly requires such a do-over to include the holding of new preceding primaries for the parties. [27] [28] [29] McCready filed to run in the special election. [30] McCready's major party opposition was Republican state senator Dan Bishop. The election was held on September 10. [31]

During the election, President Donald Trump claimed that McCready "wants to take away your guns", "raise your taxes", "likes open borders", and "really admires socialism." [32] CNN described Trump's claims as comprehensively inaccurate, as McCready advocates for tax cuts for the middle class, does not advocate for taking guns away, and supports physical barriers on the border. [32]

On September 10, 2019, Bishop won the 2019 special election to Congress with 50.7% of the vote to McCready's 48.7%. [33]

Personal life

Dan McCready is the husband of Laura Thornhill McCready, a children's attorney. [34] They met while students at Duke on a backpacking trip. They have five children. Anna Glenn, Oliver, Charlie, Eleanor, and Rowan [35]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bladen County, North Carolina</span> County in North Carolina, United States

Bladen County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 29,606. Its county seat is Elizabethtown. The county was created in 1734 as Bladen Precinct and gained county status in 1739.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Pittenger</span> American politician (born 1948)

Robert Miller Pittenger is a businessman and American politician who was the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 9th congressional district from 2013 to 2019. The district included several outer portions of Charlotte as well as many of that city's southern and eastern suburbs. He is a member of the Republican Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sue Myrick</span> American politician (born 1941)

Sue Ellen Myrick is an American businesswoman and the former U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 9th congressional district, serving from 1995 to 2013. She is a member of the Republican Party. She was the first Republican woman to represent North Carolina in Congress. On February 7, 2012, she announced that she was retiring. She left Congress in January 2013 and was succeeded by Robert Pittenger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Carolina's 9th congressional district</span> U.S. House district for North Carolina

North Carolina's 9th congressional district is a congressional district in south-central North Carolina. The district's current boundaries were redrawn in February 2016 after a U.S. District Court overturned the existing boundaries because of politically directed gerrymandering that suppressed minority representation. The new congressional district consists of Union, Chatham, Anson, Richmond, Scotland, and Robeson counties; a southeast portion of Mecklenburg County; and parts of Cumberland, Moore and Bladen counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina</span>

The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the 13 U.S. representatives from the state of North Carolina. The elections coincided with the U.S. presidential election, N.C. gubernatorial election, statewide judicial elections, Council of State elections and various local elections. Primary elections were held on May 8, 2012; for races in which no candidate received 40 percent of the vote in the primary, runoff elections were held on July 17.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina</span>

The 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, to elect the 13 U.S. representatives from the state of North Carolina, one from each of the state's 13 congressional districts. The elections coincided with other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local elections, including an election to the U.S. Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 North Carolina gubernatorial election</span>

The 2016 North Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2016, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Democratic state attorney general Roy Cooper won his first term in office, defeating Republican incumbent Pat McCrory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina</span>

The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina were held on November 8, 2016, to elect the 13 U.S. representatives from the state of North Carolina, one from each of the state's 13 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Bishop</span> American politician (born 1964)

James Daniel Bishop is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 8th congressional district since 2019, when the district was numbered “9”. As a Republican, his district includes south-central Mecklenburg, Union, Anson, Richmond, Scotland, Robeson, Hoke, and southern Moore Counties. He served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 2015 to 2017 and the Mecklenburg County Commission from 2005 to 2009. He served in the North Carolina State Senate from 2017 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Roberts (politician)</span> American politician

Jennifer Roberts is an American politician, businesswoman and former diplomat who served as the 58th mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina. She was elected on November 3, 2015 having previously served four terms on the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners. In 2012, she was the Democratic nominee for the United States House of Representatives in North Carolina's 9th congressional district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Harris (North Carolina politician)</span> American pastor and politician (born 1966)

Mark Harris is an American pastor and political candidate from North Carolina. He is the Republican nominee for the 2024 election in the redrawn North Carolina's 8th congressional district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina</span>

The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina were held on November 6, 2018, electing the thirteen U.S. representatives from the State of North Carolina, one from each of the state's congressional districts. The elections coincided with other elections to the House of Representatives, as well as elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina</span>

The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina were held on November 3, 2020, to elect the 13 U.S. representatives from the state of North Carolina, one from each of the state's 13 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.

Leslie McCrae Dowless Jr. was an American political operative and convicted fraudster from the state of North Carolina. Dowless' actions were at the center of a fraud investigation following the 2018 North Carolina's 9th congressional district election. In February 2019, North Carolina's election commission determined that the doubts surrounding the integrity of the election were sufficiently serious that the election results should be invalidated and a new election held.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 North Carolina's 9th congressional district election</span>

The 2018 election in North Carolina's 9th congressional district was held on November 6, 2018, to elect a member for North Carolina's 9th congressional district to the United States House of Representatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 North Carolina's 9th congressional district special election</span>

A special election was held on September 10, 2019, to fill the vacancy in North Carolina's 9th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives for the remainder of the 116th United States Congress. The seat had been vacant since the opening of the 116th Congress, following the refusal of the North Carolina State Board of Elections to certify the results of the November 2018 election in the district due to allegations of electoral fraud. Because of the allegations, the race received substantial national attention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 North Carolina's 3rd congressional district special election</span>

A special election was held on September 10, 2019, to fill the vacancy in North Carolina's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives for the remainder of the 116th United States Congress. Walter B. Jones Jr., the incumbent representative, died on February 10, 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 United States House of Representatives elections</span>

There were three special elections to the United States House of Representatives in 2019 during the 116th United States Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina</span>

The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina were held on November 8, 2022, to elect U.S. representatives from the state of North Carolina, concurrent with nationwide elections to the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, alongside legislative elections to the state house and senate. Primaries were held on May 17, 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina</span>

The 2024 United States House of Representatives elections in North Carolina will be held on November 5, 2024, to elect the fourteen U.S. representatives from the State of North Carolina, one from all fourteen of the state's congressional districts. The elections will coincide with the 2024 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections. The primary elections took place on March 5, 2024.

References

  1. "Thirteen Duke alumni seek seats in Congress this year". The Chronicle. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  2. "A Democrat who talks like a Republican could steal a major NC race from the GOP". mcclatchydc. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  3. Blatten, Taylor. "In Pittenger-McCready race, who would dish out the stress?". The Charlotte Observer.
  4. "Paving the Way for Veterans to Serve in Congress - Alumni - Harvard Business School". www.alumni.hbs.edu. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  5. "Renounce Nancy Pelosi, Ignore Donald Trump — and Win?". The New York Times. May 12, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  6. Mildenberg, David (March 30, 2018). "Solar investing, war experience spur McCready's political career". Business North Carolina. Business North Carolina. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  7. QUITTNER, JEREMY. "These Marines Beat the Odds to Build a Solar Energy Fund". Fortune. Time Inc.
  8. "Company Overview of Double Time Capital, LLC". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  9. Quittner, Jeremy. "These Marines Beat the Odds to Build a Solar Energy Fund". Fortune.com. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  10. "North Carolina Solar". SEIA.org. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  11. Bonvissuto, Dominic (July 2, 2014). "A Marine Still Fighting". Jeans & Ties. The OHearn Group. Archived from the original on May 19, 2015. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  12. O'Daniel, Adam (July 2, 2014). "Made in the USA: Charlotte-based ThisLand.com celebrates American craftsmen". Charlotte Business Journal. American City Business Journals. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  13. McCready, Dan. "Dear This Land Community".
  14. Pathé, Simone (May 24, 2017). "Pittenger Draws Democratic Challenger in North Carolina". Roll Call. FiscalNote. Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  15. "Dan McCready on winning Democratic Primary" . Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  16. Morrill, Jim (May 8, 2018). "Challenger Mark Harris stuns U.S. Rep. Pittenger of NC in GOP primary upset". Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, N.C. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  17. "We polled voters in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District". The New York Times . Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  18. Segers, Grace (October 19, 2018). "North Carolina congressional race could be key in battle for the House". CBS News . Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  19. Morrill, Jim (November 29, 2018). "'Tangled web' in Bladen County has questions swirling about votes in the 9th District". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, North Carolina. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  20. Gardner, Amy; Ross, Kirk (November 29, 2018). "Certification in limbo in N.C. House race as fraud investigation continues". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  21. Durkin, Erin (December 5, 2018). "North Carolina election still undecided amid absentee ballot fraud inquiry". The Guardian via www.theguardian.com.
  22. "The Latest: AP Retracts call in North Carolina Congress race". AP. November 30, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2018.
  23. SPECHT, PAUL; MURPHY, BRIAN. "NC elections board delays hearing on 9th Congressional District irregularities". The News & Observer. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  24. Bock Clark, Doug (December 2, 2018). "Allegations of G.O.P. Election Fraud Shake North Carolina's Ninth District". The New Yorker. New York. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  25. "North Carolina: Democrat withdraws concession in congressional race". The Guardian. Associated Press. December 7, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  26. Caldwell, Leigh Ann. "New election ordered in North Carolina House district after possible illegal activities". NBC News. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  27. Williams, Timothy (December 12, 2018). "North Carolina Legislature Calls for New Primary if New Election Is Held in Disputed District". The New York Times. New York. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  28. Bruno, Joe (December 13, 2018). "Amid fraud probe, an election redo might require new primary for 9th District". WSOC-TV. Charlotte, N.C. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  29. Harrison, Steve (December 13, 2018). "Latest On 9th Congressional District Fraud Allegations". WFAE 90.7 Charlotte's NPR News Source. Charlotte, N.C. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  30. Woolverton, Paul. "Democrat Dan McCready files for 9th District Congressional race". The Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  31. Blinder, Alan (May 14, 2019). "Dan Bishop Wins North Carolina's Republican Primary for New Congressional Vote". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  32. 1 2 Daniel Dale and Tara Subramaniam (July 18, 2019). "Trump made 20 false claims at his North Carolina rally". CNN. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  33. Live results: North Carolina elections, Politico , September 10, 2019.
  34. "North Carolina's 9th Congressional District election, 2018". Ballotpedia.
  35. By. "A former Marine, Dan McCready finds his latest mission in a bid for Congress". charlotteobserver. Retrieved June 2, 2019.