Elections · U.S. House · North Carolina
2026 North Carolina House race,
Mark Harris (Republican), Colby Watson (Democrat) and Bo Whitehead (Green) are on the November 3, 2026 ballot for U.S. House in North Carolina District 8, as recorded September 21, 2026.
The November ballot
Raised so far, filed with the FEC
Also in this race: Bo Whitehead (Green).
Official candidate list: North Carolina State Board of Elections. Faces and bars are the campaigns that hold the seat or have $25,000 raised or outside spending on file; being outside that group is a filing fact, not a mark. Not a prediction.
The seat
Mark Harris
Republican · Holds the seat now
First took office 2025 · Age 60
Discloses no individual stock trades.
From the member's own disclosures and congress.gov. Not cosponsoring is not a vote against a ban.
How to vote in North Carolina
- General electionNovember 3, 2026
Register 25 days before, or same-day during the early-voting period in person.
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How they won the primary
The primary · 38,132 votes
- Colby Watson Won: 47.9% 18,272
- Kevin Clark: 37.2% 14,167
- Jesse Oppenheim (withdrawn): 14.9% 5,693
Primary results as recorded October 12, 2026, ordered by votes. Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections official primary results data. A primary result is a recorded fact about a past contest, not a prediction of November.
The money on this race
- Raised by candidates
- $1.4M
- Outside money
- $14K
Outside money, for and against
Independent expenditures; direction is each filer's own declared filing. No outside money is on file for or against the other name on this ballot.
Where each candidate's money comes from
Small donors give $200 or less; PACs are political action committees. Shares of each candidate's own receipts on file with the FEC. Outside money is not part of these figures.
Who is spending on this race
The largest group spending independently here, ranked; open a row for whose race the money went into.
Independent expenditures reported to the FEC; direction is each group's own declared filing.
Not on the November ballot
3 filedPrimary candidates who did not advance, committees still on file, and candidacies that ended. Being here is a filing fact, not a mark against anyone.
How this seat voted last time
R+19 in 2024
- Mark Harris Won: 59.6%
- Justin E. Dues: 40.4%
400,349 votes for candidates. A past result is a filed fact, not a prediction of November.
Certified returns via MIT Election Data and Science Lab, from the House Clerk's election statistics and state canvasses.
The district
Census context- People
- 765K
- Median household income
- $81K
- Unemployment
- 4.9%
- Living below the poverty line
- 12.1%
- Without health insurance
- 8.5%
U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates. Context about the district, not a statement about any candidate.
Candidates and financing from the FEC, public domain. Candidate totals are each campaign's latest FEC report, ending between June 30, 2026 and September 30, 2026. Outside money is the FEC's processed total of independent expenditures plus the 24- and 48-hour reports filed since each group's latest regular report. It covers this two-year cycle, the same as the candidate totals. Dataset built 2026-10-12. Nothing here is a forecast, a grade, or a ranking of candidates.