North Carolina's 8th congressional district
US House district in North Carolina.
North Carolina's 8th District gave Representative Mark Harris 147,687 votes to Democrat Colby Watson's 142,672 on the state's 11 November file. The 5,015-vote gap is too wide for a recount.
Last refreshed: 11 November 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Why is North Carolina's 8th District outside recount range?
Timeline for North Carolina's 8th congressional district
Mentioned in: Raymond Smith overtakes Murphy in NC-3
US Midterms 2026Background
North Carolina's 8th District count on the elections board's 11 November 2026 file put Harris 5,015 votes clear of Watson. The Green Party's Bo Whitehead had 2,909. The 8th District margin stands at 1.710%.
On polling night WFAE reported that Harris took 50.4% and Watson 48.6% with almost all precincts in. Watson then won provisionals 731 to 574. The district runs from south-east Mecklenburg County to Lumberton, covering all or part of Anson, Cabarrus, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Richmond, Robeson, Scotland, Stanly and Union counties.
North Carolina sets its recount threshold at 1% of votes cast, so no demand is possible here. Of the state's close Republican-held seats, only the 8th sits beyond that threshold, while Democrats lead 11 of the 14 districts.
Reference
What area does North Carolina's 8th District cover?
Is there a recount in North Carolina's 8th District?
Who won North Carolina's 8th congressional district in 2026?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 11 November 2026. Editorial standards.