The publication blasted the HB2 legislation as Pat McCrory's "hateful and self-defeating" legacy. | Getty Charlotte Observer opposes McCrory for first time in 25 years

The Charlotte Observer has endorsed Democrat Roy Cooper for governor over Republican Pat McCrory, breaking a 25-year streak of endorsements of the North Carolina incumbent.

In a blistering take-down of a candidate whom the publication has backed in eleven separate elections dating back to 1991, the Observer's editorial board writes that McCrory finally "[rose] to the level of [his] incompetence."


Blasting the controversial HB2 legislation that restricted in-state restroom facilities to single-sex usage as McCrory's "hateful and self-defeating" legacy, the board writes that the governor failed "to return the state to its stature as a progressive leader in the South."

"While the state’s and nation’s attention has rightfully been focused on HB2 since spring, McCrory’s lack of leadership and wrong-headed policies have been on display since his first year in Raleigh," the board wrote. "He has climbed the ladder beyond his abilities. It is time for him to come home."

Hailing Cooper as the "superior option" with the experience, intelligence and policy chops to excel, the Observer praised his stances in favor of unemployment benefits and voting rights, and against HB2.

"Cooper has a clear vision of what he wants to accomplish, built largely on investing in public education and creating a well-trained workforce that will feed a growing economy and strengthen the middle class," they wrote.

McCrory currently finds himself lagging in a tight race against Cooper, who earned 48 percent of the vote in recent polling to the incumbent's 46 percent.