North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory is still refusing to admit defeat in the state’s gubernatorial race despite vote tallies showing that Roy Cooper has increased his winning margin to nearly 6,600 votes. McCrory, ousted by voters in large part because of the discriminatory HB2 legislation he signed into law, has a history of attempting to deny voters their voice. In July, a federal court struck down a law he signed that would have suppressed votes in predominately African-American neighborhoods. Now his campaign is attempting to undo votes already cast.
Rep. Tricia Cotham Monday joined Democratic lawmakers across the state in calling on McCrory to concede the gubernatorial election, reported The Charlotte Observer.
“I understand it’s hard to lose,” she said outside the Mecklenburg County board of elections. “McCrory needs to be a statesman and do what the voters wanted and concede this race.”
Attempting to undo votes already cast, McCrory is launching an all-out effort to delay the inevitable outcome of the election by lodging pointless challenges in more than half of the state’s 100 counties. The election boards of Halifax County, Durham County, Wake County, and Orange County — all of which are Republican controlled — have already rejected McCrory’s challenges.
In the same report, The Charlotte Observer stated that in a video released Sunday, Cooper said, “Gov. McCrory is doing everything he can to undermine the results of this election and the will of the people. But we won’t let him.”
McCrory spokesman Ricky Diaz shot back on Monday.
“Why is Roy Cooper so insistent on circumventing the electoral process and counting the votes of dead people and felons?” Diaz said in a statement. “It may be because he needs those fraudulent votes to count in order to win. Instead of insulting North Carolina voters, we intend to let the process work as it should to ensure that every legal vote is counted properly.”
“Governor-elect Roy Cooper has won this election, and we’re all ready for him to restore the reputation of this great state,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “North Carolina continues to suffer from the petty and dangerous leadership of Pat McCrory who refuses to admit defeat, despite now being down by nearly 7,500 votes. It is time for Pat McCrory to accept he’s lost, stop wasting taxpayer time and money, and allow for the peaceful transition of power. To undermine the results of this election would be an affront to the will of the voters, and the Human Rights Campaign and our allies are prepared to fight any attempts by Pat McCrory to overturn the will of the people. No one likes a sore loser.”
“Pat McCrory is once again putting his personal politics above the best interests of the people of North Carolina,” said Equality NC Executive Director Chris Sgro. “He was wrong when he signed HB2 into law despite opposition, and he is wrong now in refusing to acknowledge his defeat and concede. A lot of politicians lost difficult races in 2016, and Pat McCrory is the only one dragging his heels and being petulant. Roy Cooper is the clear victor — the voters of North Carolina have spoken. Pat, you have the opportunity to do the right thing and let North Carolina finally move on.”
