'Bathroom Bill' Sponsor Among GOP Hopefuls in NC-9

The race for North Carolina's Ninth District congressional seat has drawn a crowded field of Republicans for the Tuesday primary.

State Sen. Dan Bishop of Charlotte, the author of the state's controversial “bathroom bill,” is among the GOP frontrunners for the seat.

In 2016, he sponsored House Bill 2, which directed transgender people to use public bathrooms and showers that matched their birth sex.

The measure grabbed national headlines and prompted boycotts by entertainers, governments and some businesses thinking about moving jobs to North Carolina.

HB2 was partially repealed in 2017 but many conservatives continue to support the original legislation.

The seat appeared to be in GOP hands after Republican Mark Harris barely edged out Democrat Dan McCready in the November campaign. But state officials ordered a new election after a Harris operative was accused of ballot fraud.

Harris opted not to run again. McCready does not face a primary challenger.

McCready and the winner of the GOP primary will square off in a special election September 10 unless there's a primary runoff.