North Carolina House race carries unlikely hangover from fraud scandal

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The closely-watched special U.S. House election being held here Tuesday is taking place in the shadow of a political scandal that, according to the candidates, is having a real impact on the race.

But this time around, the issue is not the illegal ballot harvesting that marred last year's contest, it's the fact the one of the candidates has been effectively running for over two years.

Democratic candidate Dan McCready likes to tell his supporters that he began running for the 9th Congressional District seat when his wife, Laura, was pregnant with their fourth child. Their daughter recently celebrated her second birthday.