House Speaker Nancy Pelosi claimed that Democrat Dan McCready “won the campaign” in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District.

McCready lost the special election to Republican State Sen. Dan Bishop by roughly 2%, but Democrats took solace in how close the election was. President Donald Trump won the district in 2016 by around 12% over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. (RELATED: CBS Signs Hillary’s 2016 Campaign Manager Robby Mook As Contributor)

“I’m very proud of Dan McCready. He’s a great patriot. He’s an independent voice for the district that he would have represented,” Pelosi said. “It’s too bad he’s not coming here. But he did a great job.”

Pelosi noted the difference between McCready’s performance and the performances of recent Democratic presidential nominees in the district. (RELATED: House Judiciary Committee Passes Resolution Making Impeachment Inquiry More Likely)

“So he won the campaign,” Pelosi said. “He didn’t win the election, but he won the campaign.”

WATCH:

The special election took place as a result of allegations of election fraud that tainted the results of the November 2018 election in the district. Pastor Mark Harris edged McCready by roughly 900 votess in the election last year, but the results were never certified.

Harris decided not to run again in the special election, claiming that he was suffering from health issues, but denied any knowledge of illegal activity.