Ninth District congressional candidate Dan McCready is not letting President Donald Trump's visit to Fayetteville on Monday go unanswered.

Hours before Trump is expected to make a campaign stop at the Crown Expo Center to rally for McCready's opponent, Dan Bishop, the Democratic candidate has planned a campaign event downtown.

On Monday, from noon to 1 p.m., McCready, a Marine Corps veteran, will join veterans and military families to conduct a canvass of downtown in “Operation Get Out the Vote.”

The group will meet at the N.C. Veterans Park before breaking into small groups to walk along Hay Street, as well as go door-to-door to meet potential voters, a press release from the campaign said.

McCready, the owner of a solar energy business, is in a tight race for District 9 seat. Bishop, a Republican, is a lawyer and former Mecklenburg county commissioner from Charlotte. The district runs along the state line from Charlotte in the western half of the state to Fayetteville and Bladen County in the east.

The seat has been vacant since the opening of the 116th Congress, following the refusal of the State Board of Elections to certify the results of the November 2018 election in the district because of fraud allegations.

Republican Mark Harris won an apparent victory by 905 votes over McCready on Nov. 6 based on unofficial returns.

Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin said Sunday that the McCready campaign stop and the president's visit shows how important Fayetteville and Cumberland County is in the congressional race.

"Hopefully, they don't forget how important Fayetteville, Cumberland County is when it comes time to governance," he said. "And I think McCready has made a strong case that we need a change in this district. I don't think there has been a Democrat representing this district in a long time, and, obviously, the Republican Party thinks it's important to send the top of the party here."

Analysts have said that the race between McCready and Bishop could be a harbinger of the president's prospects as he enters his 2020 re-election campaign.

On Friday, Bishop told The Fayetteville Observer that the Trump rally on Monday will boost turnout for him in Tuesday's elections.

“We're surging, and I think the president's visit will put us over the top,” Bishop said.

Trump's “Keep America Great” rally will take center stage inside the Crown Expo Center.

The president is scheduled to speak at 7 p.m., and doors will open to the public at 4 p.m. Free tickets have been distributed at donaldjtrump.com/events.

Staff writer John Henderson can be reached at jhenderson@fayoberver.com or 910-486-3596.