LAURINBURG — Dan McCready, the Democratic Party’s candidate in the 9th District congressional race, made a stop in Scotland County on Monday to talk with potential voters ahead of the Sept. 10 election.

McCready will face former state Sen. Dan Bishop, who won the Republican primary in May. The primary and election for the seat was made necessary after allegations of election fraud surfaced in Bladen County following Republican Mark Harris’ narrow win over McCready in November.

Those election results were tossed out, and the 9th District has been without representation in Congress ever since.

About 20 interested residents, most from the Scotland County Democratic Party, came to American Legion Post 50 in Laurinburg to hear McCready talk about the issues.

“Republicans and Democrats alike have gone to Washington with promises of making things better, and I believe they have actually made them worse,” McCready said.

He added that this campaign has been a long one — now stretching into its 26th month.

“My wife and I measure it by the number of children,” he said. “When we started, we had three … now we have four.”

McCready told the group that this campaign has been especially challenging because of what took place last year.

“We’ve been up against politics at its worse,” he said. “It was the largest case of election fraud in modern US history.”

Still, McCready is confident of what he can do if elected.

“I was starting to share about my experience leading a platoon. It’s really the experience I’ve had that has shaped how I feel about leadership and about service and also what’s missing in Washington right now,” he said. “And the reason is, out of my platoon of 65 Marines we came from all over this country, but we really never cared about where you came from or the color of your skin. We never cared about who your parents were. We didn’t even care if you were Republican or Democrat. We were all on the same team and all of us wore the same colored uniform and we had a job to do that was bigger than any one of us. It was about this country, it was about a mission. That’s what I think this country is all about and that’s what I think they’ve forgotten up in Washington.

“I believe people are ready for a different kind of leadership,” said McCready, whose campaign slogan is “Country Above Party.”

He went to explain how Bishop stands with big pharma and has voted against bi-partisan bills aimed at assisting those in need of affordable health care. He added that schools remain underfunded and his opponent’s policies “don’t address those problems.”

“We need to get people to Washington who will put their country over their own agendas,” McCready said.

He also spoke about how the state is still paying for the “bathroom bill” orchestrated by Bishop that continues to keep businesses from locating here.

Other issues McCready spoke on included …

— Immigration: “This is the best example for how Washington is broken,” he said. “We need bi-partisan immigration reform that focuses on three things … securing the border, upholding our laws and respecting American values.

“It’s not rocket science, he added. “But it will take compromise.”

— Health care: “We need to fix the Affordable Care Act because we have to find ways to bring down costs,” he said.

— Jobs for veterans: “Those who went and served this country should have the chance to be hired at good jobs,” he said.

During a question and answer session, McCready was told there were more problems in the schools than just funding and teacher pay. He was told there is a discipline and lack of respect problem, which is also a big reason teachers are leaving the profession.

“We certainly need solutions for the bullying, gun violence and other issues within the schools,” McCready said.

Early voting for this special election is set for Aug. 21 and election day is Sept. 10. It is the only item on the Scotland County ballot.

W. Curt Vincent can be reached at 910-506-3023 or cvincent@laurinburgexch.wpenginepowered.com.

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McCready brings his campaign toLaurinburg, part of 3-county tour

W. Curt Vincent

Staff writer