North Carolina’s anti-LGBT ex-Governor blames election fraud for his defeat

Former North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory has blamed election fraud for his defeat.

Republican Governor Pat McCrory was booted out of office in November’s election after the state lost a string of big investment ventures thanks to his decision to sign anti-LGBT law HB2, which voided all local ordinances protecting LGBT rights, banned transgender people from using their preferred bathroom, and permitted businesses to discriminate against LGBT people on the grounds of religious belief.

In a personal humiliation for McCrory, the state swung against him even as Donald Trump took it by a wide margin in the contemporaneous Presidential vote.

The former Governor has spent the bulk of the last six months complaining about his defeat to Democrat Roy Cooper, who won by 10,000 votes.

He continued complaining this week, with North Carolina’s News & Observer accusing him of “taking childish retaliation to a new low”.

McCrory had told the newspaper: “I think [voter ID laws] will make a difference, because the fact is there are nonresidents of North Carolina voting, especially on our college campuses.

“We have people on our college campuses that have a parking lot as their address. That’s not fair to the citizens of North Carolina, and that’s a requirement of our constitution.

“I do think it has an impact on our elections. I think that’s one of the main reasons the Democrats fight voter ID, it’s nothing to do with the issues they bring up… we’ve got to make it’s fair for the voters.”

A spokesperson for Governor Roy Cooper said: “Governor Cooper is focused on creating new jobs, improving our schools, and ensuring that families in Eastern North Carolina have the resources necessary to rebuild from Hurricane Matthew.

“We’ll leave the political punditry to the talking heads and former politicians.”

McCrory previously claimed he can’t get a job because of LGBT activists.

He said: “[HB2] has impacted me to this day, even after I left office. People are reluctant to hire me, because, ‘oh my gosh, he’s a bigot’ – which is the last thing I am.

“I’ve currently accepted several opportunities in business to do work that I’d done prior to becoming governor in consulting and advisory board positions, and I’ve also been exploring other opportunities in academia, nonprofits and government… and I’ll hopefully be making some of those decisions in the near future.”

• Dec 01 2023

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