Initial tallies put Harris 905 votes ahead, but the state election board refused to certify the results, pending a criminal investigation into allegations of fraud in handling of absentee ballots.

[6] Questions were raised about the role of convicted perjurer and campaign operative McCrae Dowless, when Johnson won 221 of the 226 Bladen County absentee votes cast in the race.

[4] Harris criticized Pittenger as a part of the "Washington swamp" for voting in favor of the March 2018 omnibus spending bill.

[18] Pittenger defended his conservative voting record and pointed out the increase in military spending in the omnibus bill.

He attempted to paint Harris as anti-Trump due to his support of Ted Cruz during the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries, though Pittenger had endorsed Marco Rubio.

[34] After all the votes were tallied, Harris had a 905-vote lead over McCready, making the election the closest race in the district in over six decades.

[36] In early December, the North Carolina Democratic Party filed affidavits with the State Board of Elections claiming that Harris had used independent contractors to collect absentee ballots from voters.

[49] On December 5, 2018, BuzzFeed News detailed its independent investigative reporting of the alleged vote thefts, a practice that targeted southern rural elderly black voters in the 9th district congressional race.

McCrae Dowless tracked votes on yellow pads and used cash to pay his employees, including some family members.

Jessica Dowless tabulated the number of ballots delivered to the county election board and said McCrae gave the Harris campaign updates on the operation's most recent totals.

McCrae Dowless was employed by political consultants Red Dome, and received in excess of $428,000 from the Harris campaign.

Jessica Dowless said she dropped off completed absentee ballot applications once, and records confirmed she had delivered 185 to the Board.

Britt denied that Democrats were targeted, claiming they only facilitated voting by those without vehicles, though those ballots could have been returned by postal mail.

Cooper attempted to name an interim elections board to serve until January 31, but was overridden by the state's Republican-controlled legislature.

[56][57] The same day, Harris announced he would seek court intervention to have him immediately certified as the winner with the goal of being seated in the 116th Congress on January 3.

Responding to their obstructionism, Cooper said: All North Carolinians deserve to have confidence in a system of voting that ensures honest and fair elections.

[63]On January 22, 2019, Wake County Superior Court Judge Paul Ridgeway refused Harris's request to order him seated.

[64] On January 31, the new board, composed of three Democratic and two Republican members, voted to schedule a February hearing on the allegations of election irregularities.

John Harris also testified that he had expressed similar concerns to his father's chief campaign strategist, Andy Yates.

[15] On February 21, Harris admitted that he had made inaccurate statements in his testimony, blaming a recent sepsis infection that had affected his memory and caused him to have two strokes.

[15] Freeman announced that she would call upon a grand jury to investigate the fraud allegations to determine whether or not to file criminal charges.

[73] In March 2019, the Public Integrity Section of the United States Department of Justice began to issue subpoenas for a federal grand jury investigation related to the case.

Harris went on to win both the primary on March 5, and the general election on November 5, in what was described by local outlets as a comeback bid.