UPDATE 3-With eye on 2020, Trump touts Republican in North Carolina special election

U.S. President Donald Trump is going all-out to try to keep a North Carolina district in the Republican column in a special congressional election on Tuesday that may serve as a bellwether for his own fortunes in 2020. Trump headed on Monday to Fayetteville, a city in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District, to rally Republican supporters in a repeat election of a 2018 contest that was tainted by fraud. Both Republicans and Democrats expect the results on Tuesday to be close and to provide clues about what is ahead in presidential and congressional elections next year.

"Looking forward to being in the North Carolina tomorrow night. We're having a BIG RALLY for a great guy, Dan Bishop," Trump tweeted on Sunday, referring to the Republican nominee, a 55-year-old state senator who has embraced Trump's policies and some of his political tactics. Bishop's campaign says the most important issues are taxes, the economy and immigration. Opinion polling indicates a tight race, with turnout an important factor.

"It was a very close race," Trump said at the White House before leaving for Fayetteville. He said he believed Bishop had a good chance of winning and that the contest had become "less close" since his own involvement began about two weeks ago. Trump stressed, however, that "I'm not running." Trump has personally called North Carolina's Republican party chairman several times for updates on the campaign, a Republican involved in the special election said.

The sprawling 9th District, a combination of suburban and rural areas stretching south and east of the city of Charlotte, has been represented by Republicans for decades, and voted for Trump by about 12 percentage points in 2016. A Republican loss would be a worrisome sign for the president and his party. But Democrats are daring to hope for an upset by their candidate, Dan McCready, that would build on their takeover of the U.S. House of Representatives from Republicans in elections last year and make further inroads in "Trump country."

'ALL ABOUT TURNOUT'

The national press secretary for Trump's 2020 campaign, Kayleigh McEnany, said the campaign did not buy into the narrative that the 9th District election, whatever the results, was predictive of the 2020 campaign.

"The president is not on the ballot," she said. "It's a big difference when he is." "No, I don't see it as a bellwether," Trump told reporters before he left the White House.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence campaigned for Bishop on Monday, speaking at a "Get out the Vote" event with the candidate in the town of Wingate. He urged voters to turn out in Union County, a suburban Charlotte county that some analysts say could be a key battleground in the race. "The truth of the matter is, we're not only going to make sure we re-elect President Donald Trump for four more years, but we're going to elect a Republican majority back in the House of Representatives, and Dan Bishop is going to lead the way," Pence declared.

Bishop's campaign ads have said McCready "admires socialism" and linked him to the "Squad," a group of progressive House Democrats that Trump has repeatedly attacked. McCready, 36, a small-businessman and U.S. Marine Corps veteran, has focused his race on healthcare, education and the pay of North Carolina teachers.

"He (Bishop) is not running against a socialist, he's running against a capitalist, who's built a business from scratch," McCready told CNN. "He's running against a United States Marine." The district was already getting more competitive in 2018 when McCready lost narrowly before state officials ruled the election was marred by an absentee-ballot fraud scheme that benefited McCready's then-opponent, Republican Mark Harris. A new election was ordered, and Harris declined to run again.

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