House District 8 comprises the southeastern border of Mecklenburg County. It also includes all or part of eight other counties in south-central N.C. including all of Union County and most of Cabarrus County. This seat has been held by Republican Dan Bishop, who is now running for N.C. Attorney General. Bishop won by a margin of 39 percentage points in the 2022 election. The 2024 race features Republican pastor and previous Congressional candidate Mark Harris versus a Democrat newcomer, Justin Dues, a businessman and former Marine.
Republican Mark Harris
Harris is a pastor and vocal social conservative who ran for Congress in 2018 but had his election victory overturned following revelations that one of his campaign operatives engaged in illegal ballot harvesting. At the time, Harris conceded that “a new election is warranted.” Now, though, he claims he was treated unfairly, saying in his announcement video: ““[In] 2020, Democrats stole the election from Donald Trump. The year before, they did it to me.” Harris has attempted multiple unsuccessful runs for office in the past (U.S. Senate in 2014 and the House in 2016). National media have reported that in some of his old sermons, he questioned whether it was the “healthiest pursuit” for women to prioritize careers and advocated that women “submit” to their husbands — comments that Harris later said were taken out of context. He is the former President of the North Carolina Baptist Convention. He says he has stood up against the “extreme tactics of the radical left.” He has a BA from Appalachian State and a master’s from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. (Age ~57)
Democrat Justin E. Dues
Dues is a former Marine and the founder of a medical device startup. In an online interview, he said the key messages of his campaign are that he is anti-gerrymandering, pro term limits and pro climate management. He said specifically, "We are 1 human race, sharing 1 planet and 1 set of non-renewable resources - we need to evolve past the tribal us vs. them thinking and work together." He also wants to revamp “a broken public education system that is not teaching enough life skills to our youth, incorporating an optional 2-year public service option that unlocks secondary education benefits (akin to the GI Bill).” He has a bachelor’s from the University of Maryland and an MBA from UNC Charlotte’s business school. (Age 39)