Republican North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory has conceded the governor’s race to opponent Democrat Roy Cooper after the closest governor race in the state’s history:
“I personally believe that the majority of our citizens have spoken, and we now should do everything we can to support the 75th governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper,” McCrory says in the video. “The McCrory administration team will assist in every way to help the new administration make a smooth transition.“It’s time to celebrate our democratic process and respect what I see to be the ultimate outcome of the closest North Carolina governor’s race in modern history.”
McCrory has become the first sitting governor of North Carolina to lose reelection.
After Election Day, no one could call the race because only 5,000 votes separated McCrory and Cooper. Republicans then filed a protest over potential voter fraud on absentee ballots in Bladen County after officials noticed the signatures of the voters and the absentee witnesses appeared similar. The party also filed a protest in Durham County due to massive problems on Election Day.
McCrory reached out to the State Bureau of Investigation about the probe in Bladen County “after the State Board of Elections dismissed a protest calling for those ballots to be thrown out.” Durham County officials plan to finish the recount Monday afternoon, “but early results from the recount showed virtually no change in the vote tally there.” The State Board of Elections unofficially has Cooper up by 10,000 votes over McCrory.
The board will meet later this week to officially certify the win.
Cooper released this statement after McCrory conceded:
“I want to thank Governor McCrory and our First Lady Ann McCrory for their service to our state. Kristin and I look forward to working with them and their staff in what I expect will be a smooth transition. I’m proud to have received the support from so many who believe that we can come together to make a North Carolina that works for everyone. It will be the honor of my life to serve this great state. While this was a divisive election season, I know still that there is more that unites us than divides us. Together, we can make North Carolina the shining beacon in the south by investing in our schools, supporting working families and building a state that works for everyone. I’d like to thank all of the hardworking families in North Carolina, and I look forward to serving the greatest state in the country as your Governor.”
McCrory won the governor’s race four years ago by a decent margin, but different bills have bogged down his popularity in North Carolina. He took a major hit with the HB2 law that forces people to use the bathrooms that match their biological sex. The law caused massive outrage with celebrities, companies, and sporting events boycotting the state until the government reverses the law.
However, Cooper will not have a free for all when he takes office since “Republicans hold veto-proof majorities in both chambers of the legislature, making it difficult for him to push his agenda — or stop theirs.”
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