GOP's Mark Harris admits he gave ‘incorrect’ testimony to state board investigating election theft in North Carolina

Republican congressional candidate Mark Harris on Thursday admitted that he had lied to state officials investigating ballot theft by his campaign during the 2016 midterm election.

Harris is a former pastor who served as president of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina before running in the state's ninth congressional district in the 2016 midterm elections.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections ruled unanimously on Thursday to vacate the election results and call for a do-over election, The New York Timesreports.

After spending months trying to be certified the winner, Harris admitted on Thursday that the illegal actions by his campaign tainted the election.

“It’s become clear to me that the public’s confidence in the Ninth District’s general election has been undermined to an extent that a new election is warranted,” he said on the witness stand.

But he also admitted that he had lied when testifying.

"But the evangelical pastor’s political surrender came only after a damaging 24 hours for Mr. Harris and his allies; just before Mr. Harris called for a new election, he acknowledged that some of his earlier testimony had been 'incorrect,'" The Times reported.

Dan McCready, the Democratic Party nominee in 2018, is already raising funds to run in the special election.