Dan Bishop is now a member of Congress.
Bishop, who won a special election against Democrat Dan McCready last week, was sworn into the U.S. House Tuesday afternoon.
It's the first time residents of the state's 9th U.S. House District have had a representative since early January, when former Rep. Robert Pittenger's term ended.
"I look forward to getting to know you all and to working together with you to make common-sense solutions to make the lives of Americans better," Bishop said at the Capitol.
[Related: Dan Bishop Wins 9th District Redo]
Bishop isn't the only new North Carolina Republican on Capitol Hill. Greg Murphy, a former member of the N.C. House, was also sworn in Tuesday, representing the state's 3rd U.S. House District. Murphy replaces Republican Rep. Walter Jones, who died in office in February.
This marks the end of a long-running election in the 9th District that began in 2018. Republican former pastor Mark Harris eked out a primary win against Pittenger, a three-term incumbent, followed by a tight victory over McCready in the 2018 general election.
But the election unraveled amid allegations of ballot fraud before Harris could be sworn in. The state called a new election and Harris dropped out. McCrae Dowless, a political operative who worked for the Harris campaign, has since been indicted in the case. McCready, a U.S. Marine veteran and businessman, ran again and lost to Bishop Sept. 10 by 2 percentage points. Libertarian Jeff Scott and Green Party candidate Allen Smith also ran.
[Related: Bishop's Strategist: 'We Spent 75 To 80% Of Resources In Eastern Counties']
Bishop's new job, meanwhile, leaves an opening in Mecklenburg County's General Assembly delegation. The Charlotte attorney had been a state senator representing District 39 since 2017. It's up to members of the Republican Party in the district to nominate a replacement to be appointed by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.
Bishop is also a former member of the state House of Representatives, where he's known for sponsoring House Bill 2 in 2016, which became known as the "bathroom bill."
The legislation regulated which bathrooms transgender people could use and overturned an antidiscrimination ordinance in Charlotte. The legislation caused widespread fallout. Part of the law has since been undone.
