Republican in controversial NC race sets off fire alarm trying to evade reporters

North Carolina congressional candidate Mark Harris set off a fire alarm on Monday night as he avoided reporters, WSOC-TV in Charlotte reported.

Reporter Joe Bruno posted video footage of Harris, who is the Republican candidate at the center of the state’s disputed 9th Congressional District race, using a fire exit at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Government Center as reporters sought to ask questions about election fraud allegations.

{mosads}An alarm can be heard in the background of the video as Harris exits the building and runs through the parking lot outside. Harris then got into a car and sped off without taking questions, WSOC reported.

After Bruno posted the footage on Twitter, Harris responded by claiming he “had to get to the kickoff of the #NationalChampionship game” where the Clemson Tigers were facing the Alabama Crimson Tide.

“We’ll have plenty to talk about in the days ahead,” Harris tweeted.

Hey man,

Sorry I missed you guys tonight. I had to get to the kickoff of the #NationalChampionship game. We’ll have plenty to talk about in the days ahead.#GoTigers https://t.co/ahd48d1g6I

— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNC9) January 7, 2019

Dan McCready, Harris’s Democratic opponent in the 9th District race, responded as well.

“Mark Harris can run from the media, but he can’t hide from the truth,” he tweeted. “The people deserve answers.”

Mark Harris can run from the media, but he can’t hide from the truth. The people deserve answers. https://t.co/gU56PpWL4c

— Dan McCready for NC (@McCreadyForNC) January 7, 2019

North Carolina’s 9th District race has been mired in uncertainty amid allegations that a Harris staffer, Leslie McCrae Dowless Jr., conducted an illegal absentee ballot-harvesting operation in two counties in the state with the intention of swinging the absentee ballot vote in Harris’s favor.

Harris holds a 905-vote lead over McCready, but he has not been seated in the new session of Congress amid an ongoing investigation by the state elections board.

House Democrats have reportedly discussed plans to launch an investigation into the election fraud claims in the race.