Dowless, man at center of 2018 election fiasco, files to retain elected seat

ELIZABETHTOWN — In the final hours, the man at the center of North Carolina’s 9th District election fiasco filed for reelection in Bladen County.

McCrae Dowless, who faces criminal charges related to the 2018 election, is a candidate to retain his seat with the Bladen Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisors. The nonpartisan election will pit Dowless against Dawson Singletary of Bladenboro and Eddie Hester of Bladenboro.

Filing closed Monday at noon, finalizing the county races for the general eletion this fall.

Singletary filed June 10, and Hester on June 17.

The nonpartisan board has three members with four-year terms. Two are elected in midterm elections, and one in the presidential year elections.

The 2018 election brought unwanted national exposure to Bladen County when North Carolina’s 9th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, a portion of which includes Bladen County, remained the only one unfilled as Congress convened in January 2019. The contest was held a second time, along with two races in Bladen County, after an investigation by the state Board of Elections showed irregularities that also led to Dowless and 10 others being charged with election crimes.

Dan Bishop, a former state senator, won the new election. When Congress convenes in January 2021, Bladen County will no longer be in District 9, instead being fully encompassed in District 7. The mapping change is not related to the 2018 election problems.

In addition to state election law charges, Dowless has been indicted and faces federal charges of fraudulently receiving Social Security benefits while getting paid for political work in the 2018 election cycle. The indictment of four counts was handed up by a grand jury April 7.

The charges are two counts of Social Security fraud, a count of making a false statement, and a count of theft of government property. If convicted of theft, Dowless could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The other charges each carry maximum penalties of five years and $250,000 fines.

At the state level, Dowless was indicted last year on charges involving ballot “harvesting” allegations during the 2016 and 2018 elections. The litigation has not been resolved.

The rest of the county races, already set through filing and a March primary, include:

• Bladen commissioners, at-large: Greg Taylor, Ray Britt, Michael Cogdell, Mark Gillespie, David Gooden. Taylor, Cogdell and Gillespie are Democrats, and Britt and Gooden are Republicans. Cogdell, Britt and Gooden are incumbents. Voters will send three onto the board.

• Bladen commissioners, District 1: Incumbent Dr. Ophelia Munn-Goins, a Democrat, is challenged by Republican Ricky Price.

• Bladen commissioners, District 2: Republican Rodney Hester won the primary in March over incumbent Daniel Dowless. He is slated to run unopposed.

• Bladen commissioners, District 3: Jimmie Smith, a Democrat, and Dr. Danny Ellis, a Republican, will vie for the seat being vacated by Republican Ashley Trivette. She chose not to run for reelection.

• Bladen Board of Education, District 1: Glenn McKoy, a Democrat, is the incumbent and running unopposed.

• Bladen Board of Education, District 2: Berry Lewis, a Democrat, is the incumbent and challenged by Tim Benton, a Republican.

• Bladen Board of Education, District 3: Chris Clark, unaffiliated with a political party, is the incumbent and running unopposed.