North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory Concedes; Urges Prayers for Governor-Elect Roy Cooper

by johndavis, December 5, 2016

North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory Concedes; Urges Prayers for Governor-Elect Roy Cooper December 5, 2016 Vol. IX, No. 15 4:13 pm “I ask all of us to please pray for our new governor, Roy Cooper.” Embattled North Carolina Republican Governor Pat McCrory issued a two-minute video statement early this afternoon, Monday, December
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North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory Concedes; Urges Prayers for Governor-Elect Roy Cooper

December 5, 2016 Vol. IX, No. 15 4:13 pm

“I ask all of us to please pray for our new governor, Roy Cooper.”

Embattled North Carolina Republican Governor Pat McCrory issued a two-minute video statement early this afternoon, Monday, December 5, 2016, conceding the governor’s race and calling on “all of us to please pray for our new governor, Roy Cooper.”

Just after 2 o’clock PM today, Governor-Elect Cooper acknowledged Governor McCrory’s decision to concede in an email. “I just received a call from Governor McCrory conceding the race and congratulating me on becoming the 75th governor of North Carolina,” Cooper wrote.

“It will be the honor of my life to serve this great state,” Cooper said in the email.

Governor McCrory’s list of economic accomplishments was the envy of most governors in the United States, and argued well for a successful race for a second term. However, McCrory made the politically fatal mistake of being the highest-profile proponent of a controversial LGBT rights issue known as HB2 (AKA, “The Bathroom Bill”). The law was passed in haste and in a fit of moral retribution by GOP state lawmakers after the Charlotte City Council enacted an ordinance allowing transgendered individuals to use bathroom facilities of their sexual identity.

HB2 caused an immediate backlash, with many of the state’s largest employers and well admired public and private leaders calling for its repeal. Although the economic impact of the law was grossly overstated, the loss of NCAA and ACC tournaments and relentless national and international ridicule weakened the resolve of many rank and file McCrory supporters.

However, HB2 alone did not cause McCrory to lose favor with most North Carolina voters. His entire term has been plagued by endless storms of controversies including dozens of vindictive battles with Republican legislative leaders, allegations of a quid pro quo on behalf of a contributor and friend who wanted to renew a $3 million prison contract, ethical questions about his relationship with his brother’s firm and whether he properly disclosed all of his financial interests, concerns about his relationship with his former employer, Duke Energy, following a major coal ash spill into the Dan River, his defense of election reforms deemed unconstitutional by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and his support for a highly unpopular private contract to build toll roads on I-77 in north Mecklenburg County and southern Iredell County.

Again, Governor McCrory’s list of economic accomplishments was the envy of most governors in the United States. With this list, he should have won a second term easily:

$4.4 billion in tax relief (personal and corporate)
Paid off $2.5 billion unemployment ins debt
$1.6 billion rainy day fund (largest in history)
Maintained AAA bond rating (only 10 states)
#1 State GDP Growth; #1 Place for Business
Voters approved $2 Billion infrastructure bond
$428 million revenue surplus projected
Education budgets largest in history
Average teacher pay over $50,000 (1st in History)
High School graduation rates at all-time high
Exports grew at twice the national average

However, four years of constant negative news coverage created a smoldering resentment among tens of thousands of his most loyal supporters. By the time election day rolled around, it was not the merits of issues like HB2 that mattered as much as the ridicule, embarrassment and constant rancor associated with McCrory-backed policies and how he chose to govern.

In the final analysis, Cooper did not win the race for his first term as governor as much as McCrory lost the opportunity for a second term … by 10,263 votes out of 4,608,117 cast.

In 2012, McCrory carried Wake and Mecklenburg counties. In 2016, McCrory lost Wake County by 116,192 votes and lost Mecklenburg County by 136,628 votes. That’s two counties McCrory lost by 252,820 votes that he carried in 2012. And he only needed 10,264 votes to win.

Finally, there is a good side to Pat McCrory that we must not overlook. It’s the side that called on all of us today to “please pray for our new governor, Roy Cooper.” When all is said and done, Pat McCrory is a good man. And, he accomplished something that only 74 people in the history of the Great State of North Carolina have accomplished. He was governor.

May we all remember the good man that Pat McCrory is, and the good man that Roy Cooper is, and give them both the gift of our prayers during this season of family and faith.

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