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With North Carolina unwilling to repeal its anti-LGBT law despite widespread criticism and pressure from the business community, national groups are energized to unseat Gov. Pat McCrory to make it happen.

Last week, the Human Rights Campaign and the LGBT state group Equality North Carolina jointly announced they had formally endorsed Cooper’s opponent, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, in his bid to unseat McCrory.

JoDee Winterhof, vice president for policy and political affairs at the Human Rights Campaign, said the endorsement “marks the launch of our work” to hold McCrory and his allies accountable for HB2.

“They’ve put countless people at risk and cost the state millions of dollars in economic losses,” Winterhof said. “Moving forward, we will be reaching out to our members and supporters, turning them out to vote and making sure they know what’s at stake and why they should volunteer to elect a governor who believes that each and every LGBTQ person across North Carolina should live free from fear of discrimination.”

After a single day of consideration and approval by the North Carolina Legislature, McCrory in March signed into law House Bill 2, undoing pro-LGBT non-discrimination ordinances in cities throughout the state, such as one recently enacted in Charlotte, and prohibiting transgender people from using the public restroom in schools and government buildings consistent with their gender identity.

The law inspired a massive outcry. More than 200 business leaders called for repeal of the law while others cancelled business expansion in the state. Conventions in North Carolina were cancelled as a result of HB2 and performers such as Bruce Springsteen and Cirque de Soleil nixed events in the state.

Nonetheless, McCrory and the legislature haven’t changed the law aside from reinstating the ability to sue in state court in cases of discrimination on the basis of race, religion, national origin and sex. But the approved change still allows anti-LGBT discrimination because neither sexual orientation nor gender identity were part of the fix. McCrory has earmarked $500,000 of taxpayer money to defend the law in court.

Jared Leopold, a spokesperson for the Democratic Governors Association, said unseating McCrory in the upcoming election is “one of the top priorities” in the aftermath of enactment of the law.

“We think Pat McCrory is the most vulnerable incumbent governor in America right now,” Leopold said. “He damaged a brand that was already damaged and that every poll indicates HB2 further damaged his brand as someone who’s been too focused on his social agenda to the detriment of the economy.”

In April, NC Families First, backed by DGA, launched a TV ad consisting of a series of media reports on the economic fallout of HB2 and cites companies that have condemned the anti-LGBT law. The DGA, Leopold said, spent about $500,000 on the ad campaign and plans to invest more in the gubernatorial race.

Polls continue to show the gubernatorial race in North Carolina is a tight contest. Earlier this month, a Public Policy Polling poll found a near dead heat between McCrory and Cooper in the “red” counties. Cooper had 43 percent support compared to the 42 percent who backed McCrory and the 4 percent for Libertarian candidate Lon Cecil.

If McCrory is unseated on Nov. 8, the enactment of HB2 may well be to blame. That same poll found only 30 percent of voters support the law compared to the 43 percent who oppose it. A plurality of voters, 43 percent, also said the way McCrory handled the issue makes them less likely to vote for him compared to the 31 percent who say it makes them more likely to support him.

Larry Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia, said the gubernatorial race is “highly competitive” and he expects coattails from whomever wins the presidential race in North Carolina.

“No question NC is tight on the White House too, but we have the state leaning slightly to Clinton at the moment,” Sabato added.

It’s possible the courts could act to block enforcement of HB2 before the election takes places as a result of litigation filed by civil rights advocates and the U.S. Justice Department. Earlier this month, a federal court held a hearing on whether to instate a preliminary injunction against the law. The full trial in the legal challenges to HB2 is set to begin Nov. 14.

One question is whether if Cooper is elected he’ll have the necessary support in the now Republican-controlled legislature to repeal HB2 and go a step further by implementing statewide LGBT non-discrimination protections in a state that currently lacks them.

Jamal Little, a Cooper spokesperson, affirmed the candidate would seek to repeal the anti-LGBT law and support a prohibition on anti-LGBT discrimination if elected governor.

“Attorney General Cooper strongly opposes HB 2 and will work to repeal it as governor,” Little said. “He believes that discrimination is wrong, period, and that is why he supports non-discrimination protections for the LGBT community. He believes that there are people of good will on both sides of the aisle that want to do the right thing, and that what we need is a strong leader.”