Attorney: Man at center of 9th District election investigation has violated no laws

Progress N.C. Action, a left-leaning advocacy group, organized a town hall meeting in Bladen County to give voters an opportunity to speak out about the 9th Congressional District election.

Posted 8:45 p.m. Dec 18, 2018 — Updated 3:36 a.m. Dec 19, 2018

By

Travis Fain

, WRAL statehouse reporter

BLADENBORO, N.C. — The attorney for McCrae Dowless, the Bladen County political operative at the center of a state investigation into election irregularities in the 9th Congressional District, said Tuesday that her client "has not violated any state or federal campaign laws, and current ongoing investigations will prove the same."

The written statement, from attorney Cynthia Adams Singletary, is the first communication from Dowless since the State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement identified him as a person of interest in its investigation of suspected election irregularities in the 9th District, and in Bladen and Robeson counties in particular.

"Mr. Dowless is a highly respected member of our community who is routinely sought after for his campaign expertise," Singletary said in the statement. "All speculation is premature and wholly unwarranted."

The statement comes shortly before the start of a Tuesday evening town hall meeting in Bladen County organized by Progress N.C. Action, a left-leaning political activist organization. Other sponsors of the town hall include the North Carolina NAACP, the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, the North Carolina Black Alliance and Blueprint NC.

The state elections board has refused to certify election results in the 9th District. It has scheduled a hearing in the matter for Jan. 11.