Bradford on the I-77 bridge with supporters, including Joshua Dobi (foreground) / Photo: Dave Yochum

Nov. 9. By Dave Yochum. Incumbent NC House District 98 Representative John Bradford (R) of Cornelius defeated Christy Clark (D) Tuesday in a rematch of their close 2020 race.

Bradford: 17,925

Clark: 17,064

John Bradford, Christy Clark

With all 10 precincts reporting, Bradford won by 861 votes, a 2.5 percent margin. It was similar to the outcome in 2020.

Clark initially led in early voting, but Bradford gradually overtook the Democratic challenger on the strength of votes cast on Election Day.

Background

Bradford is the only Republican in the Mecklenburg County delegation in Raleigh—all the others are Democrats. The district, which includes all of Cornelius, as well as portions of Davidson and Huntersville, helped propel Thom Tillis to the US Senate.

Bradford, 48, and Clark, 51, have squared off twice before.

Bradford held the post for two terms but in 2018, Clark won an upset victory. Bradford recaptured the House seat in 2020.

Quotable

After a hard-fought race, Bradford said he’ll never take constituents for granted.

“I’m thrilled that the voters in District 98 have re-elected me to yet another term in the NC House. I’m ready to continue my legislative work for Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville, Mecklenburg County and North Carolina,” he said.

Details

In Precinct 242, which runs down Jetton, Bradford bested Clark 1,453 to 586. In 202/Town Hall, which includes Antiquity, he won by a narrower margin, 2,663 to 2,375.

In 134/Bradley Middle School in Huntersville, Clark took Bradford 1,929 to 1,568. Likewise, in 206/Davidson, Clark won 2,540 to 1,375.

—Dave Vieser contributed to this story