— An online fundraising page, purportedly launched by McCrae Dowless, the political operative at the center of ballot fraud allegations in the 9th Congressional District, says Dowless is the victim of a "political witch hunt" and has some harsh words for the son of Republican candidate Mark Harris.

Dowless was working for Harris in the 2018 congressional race. The writer of the page, which appears to be Dowless, is seeking $100,000 for a "political defense fund." The page was launched Thursday, the day the State Board of Elections voted to call a new election in the district.

"The liberal democrats are attempting to crucify me for helping a republican candidate and have portrayed me in an untrue light," says the writer. "I am a simple man and live in a 1,000 square foot house that is not even payed for. I am 63 years of age, and I receive Social Security."

The author of the page did not immediately respond to a message seeking verification of his identity. GoFundMe also did not immediately respond to a verification request.

The page had been taken offline by Friday evening.

At this week's hearing, state elections investigators showed records that the Harris campaign funneled about $130,000 to Dowless' political operation in Bladen and Robeson counties. The consultant who issued the checks, Andy Yates of Red Dome Group, said he never asked Dowless for receipts or records because he believed Harris did not want him to.

"They are making it look like I got a lot of money, but that is not true," the writer says. "My salary barely covered my gas and expenses, and the majority of the money was paid to other people working for the campaign."

The writer also has harsh words for Mark Harris' son, John Harris. The younger Harris is an assistant U.S. attorney who testified he has no involvement in the state board's pending request for a federal investigation into Dowless.

The younger Harris said he was convinced by absentee ballot data patterns in Bladen County that Dowless had run an illegal ballot harvesting operation in the 2016 9th District primary, which his father narrowly lost to then-Congressman Robert Pittenger. John Harris' testimony directly contradicted Mark Harris' claims that no one had warned him about Dowless.

"An attorney should know not to make accusations without a trial. Where I come from, 29-year-old kids don’t think they know better than their parents just because they have a new fancy law degree, and if they do, they sure don’t say it," the writer says.

"After this testimony, I know he will be pushing for criminal charges to be brought against me because he is ruthless. He brought his God-fearing Baptist father to tears testifying against him. If he will do this to his father, what do you think he will try to do to me?" the writer continues. "Turning on his parents because they did not listen to everything he said was wrong. He got up and left his parents even as his father was crying and leaving for medical treatment."