North Carolina governor Pat McCrory conceded yesterday in the governor’s race, allowing his opponent, Democrat Roy Cooper, to be declared the winner almost a month after election day. Cooper is the current attorney general of North Carolina. Following the Election Day’s razor-thin margin, McCrory filed for a recount, alleging possibly voting fraud. As of the current tally, Cooper defeated McCrory by just under 10,000 vote, or a margin of just .2 percent.
In a video published by his office yesterday morning, McCrory said, “Despite continued questions that should be answered regarding the voting process, 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.” Watch the rest of the video here:
Despite the fact that Donald Trump carried North Carolina in the presidential election, and incumbent Republican senator Richard Burr defeated his opponent by nearly 6 percent, McCrory couldn’t get the vote total needed to put him over the edge. This makes him the first sitting governor in the state’s history to lose a re-election bid since the state constitution was amended in 1977 to permit governors to seek a second term.
The road ahead won’t be easy for Cooper: Republicans have super-majorities in both the state house and state senate, which will make it difficult for him to push his own agenda through the legislature.