McCrory concedes in North Carolina

North Carolina GOP Gov. Pat McCrory has conceded the governor's race to Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper, after a prolonged canvassing of votes that stretched almost a full month after Election Day.

"Despite continued questions that should be answered regarding the voting process, I personally believe that the majority of our citizens have spoken and we should now do everything we can to support the 75th governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper," McCrory said in a video statement.


McCrory is the first governor in the history of North Carolina to lose a bid for reelection, even as President-elect Donald Trump carried the state by 200,000 votes and GOP Sen. Richard Burr claimed victory by a similar margin in November.

But Cooper, who had served four terms as state attorney general, was able to convince voters to split their ballots. McCrory's reputation was damaged by his decision to sign HB2, which was widely condemned for discriminating against transgender individuals and was opposed by a majority of the state's voters.

The contentious race dragged into a weeks-long canvassing of the state, as provisional and absentee ballots were tabulated. But Cooper’s margin of victory continued to creep up during this time, from about 5,000 votes on Election Day to over 10,000 today.

McCrory's campaign had filed dozen of complaints around the state, the vast majority of which were dismissed by GOP-controlled county election boards. The campaign argued there was voter fraud in half of the state's 100 counties and claimed that dead people, felons and people who voted in other states cast ballots in the race.

"I want to thank Gov. McCrory and our first lady Ann McCrory for their service to our state,” Cooper said in a written statement. “Kristin and I look forward to working with them and their staff in what I expect will be a smooth transition. I’m proud to have received the support from so many who believe that we can come together to make a North Carolina that works for everyone."

The State Board of Elections granted the McCrory campaign’s request for a recount of 90,000 votes in Durham County, overturning the county’s earlier rejection. But the Durham County recount yielded little changes in the results, and McCrory opted to finally concede the race around noon on Monday. The recount is expected to wrap up later today.

Democrats are still fearful that McCrory and Republican legislators will take advantage of a late special legislative session to cement their power in the state, before Cooper takes office. Four of North Carolina's state Supreme Court justices currently make up a liberal majority on the seven-member court, but Democrats fear McCrory and the state's GOP-dominated Legislature could attempt to add two conservative-leaning justices to wipe out the liberal majority. The stated purpose of the special legislative session is to provide hurricane relief funding.

Elena Schneider contributed to this report.

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