Shooting range owner taking aim at 9th District seat

When Republican Mark Harris bowed out of the new election state officials ordered in the 9th Congressional District, he also offered his own idea on who should represent the district in the U.S. House.

"It is my hope that, in the upcoming primary, a solid conservative leader will emerge to articulate the critical issues that face our nation. Over the course of campaigning in the district, I met and got to know one such leader: Union County Commissioner Stony Rushing," Harris said. "His background and his experience have proven him to stand firm on so many of the issues that concern us, including the issue of life, our national security, and religious freedom. I hope that those who have stood with me will strongly consider getting behind Stony Rushing."

Relatively unknown outside of Union County, the 47-year-old Rushing became an overnight sensation in the 9th District story that has gained national attention. His fame only grew after photos of him dressed as the character Boss Hogg from the 1980s television series "The Dukes of Hazzard" – white tux, white Stetson hat, cigar in hand – spread on social media.

"My son said I’m trending on Twitter. That made me look cool again in his eyes," Rushing said Thursday at the Taking Aim shooting range he owns outside Pageland, just across the South Carolina line from Union County.

A distant cousin of his, Jerry Rushing, was a moonshiner whose antics inspired the "The Dukes of Hazzard." But Stony Rushing said he only rented the outfit for Halloween and took some photos for use in his campaign for commissioner last fall.

"That has gotten me a lot of mileage," he said. "I think those pictures were well worth the money spent to get those."

"You can see working on the range outside here, a white suit wouldn’t be conducive to that," he added.

Rushing said his critics have equated him with the bumbling and corrupt Boss Hogg character, but he quickly dismissed it.

"My detractors like to make those comparisons, but as one of my supporters told somebody, 'Stony likes to play dumb, but he's the smartest guy in the room,'" he said.

There is a real-life investigation into possible corruption in the 9th District election, however.

Harris appeared to have won the race, but state elections officials last week called for a new election after finding that a campaign worker Harris hired, McRae Dowless, led an operation in which absentee ballots were illegally taken from voters in Bladen County.

"Mark Harris is a good, solid man. ... I know Mark Harris didn’t do anything to commit voter fraud," Rushing said. "I definitely think whatever happened here should have been tried in a court of law to begin with, not in a court of public opinion."

Dowless was charged Wednesday with obstruction of justice, conspiracy and illegal possession of absentee ballots in connection with his work in the 2016 general election and 2018 primary. Authorities said he could face more charges connected to the election last fall.

Rushing said Dowless welcomes the charges.

"I think he's excited to go to court," he said. "That' everything I've heard from the residents of Bladen County – finally they get their day in court, a real court."

He blames the Democrats and candidate Dan McCready for the scandal, saying claims of messing with mail-in ballots are overblown.

"You can go all over the state of North Carolina and find ballot issues with absentee ballots. What they need to do is tighten up that process, tighten up those instructions," he said.

Rushing hasn't officially declared as a candidate, but he said he plans to throw his hat – white Stetson or otherwise – into the ring.

"There’s nobody who understands the 9th District like I do," he said, noting that he grew up on a farm in the rural district.

"We were behind Mark Harris 100 percent," he said. "I told him I'd take up the fight."