Union County voters heading to early voting sites Thursday, Oct. 15, will find a U.S. House race between Republican incumbent Mark Harris and Democratic challenger Colby Watson.

District 8 covers Union County and several surrounding counties, including the Waxhaw area. Green Party candidate Bo Whitehead is also on the ballot.

Harris, a former pastor, has represented the district since 2025. He won the seat in 2024 with approximately 60% of the vote, according to the Charlotte Observer. Cook's Partisan Voting Index rates the district Solid Republican.

Harris's political history includes a disputed 2018 congressional election that was never certified. Investigators uncovered an absentee-ballot fraud operation involving a political operative hired by his campaign, the Observer reported. Harris was not criminally charged in connection with the scheme.

Watson, a Union County native and construction business owner, is making his first run for elected office. On his campaign website, Watson pledges not to accept money from lobbyists representing corporate or foreign interests and not to trade stocks while in office. Whitehead, the Green Party candidate, is a warehouse supervisor who has advocated for expanding health care access and raising the federal minimum wage, according to the Observer.

Neither Harris nor Watson responded to questionnaires from WSOC-TV or the Charlotte Observer. The Charlotte Observer's editorial board said it could not recommend Harris for another term, citing his voting record on health care and trade policy.

Three early voting sites serve the Waxhaw area, according to the Union County Board of Elections: the Waxhaw Recreation Barn at 5412 Waxhaw-Marvin Road, Wesley Chapel VFD Station 41 at 315 Waxhaw-Indian Trail Road South and Wesley Chapel VFD Station 42 at 8821 New Town Road. As we reported Oct. 13, nine sites are open countywide.

Early voting hours are 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays, Oct. 17, 24 and 31. No sites are open on Sundays. Voters must bring photo ID.

Voters in Precinct #021, who normally vote at Jackson Volunteer Fire Department in Waxhaw, will cast Election Day ballots at Hermon Baptist Church instead due to construction, according to a Union County notice. That change applies to Election Day only. Union County voters may use any early voting site regardless of precinct.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, with polls open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.