It might be game over for the Governor of North Carolina’s attempts to overturn the election he lost.

North Carolina has lost a string of big investment ventures over Republican Governor Pat McCrory’s decision to sign the contentious HB 2 – which voided all local ordinances protecting LGBT rights, banned transgender people from using their preferred bathroom, and permits businesses to discriminate against LGBT people on the grounds of religious belief.

As the state went to the polls earlier this month, McCrory’s luck appeared to have run out, as his Democratic opponent Roy Cooper took a narrow lead in the battle for the Governorship. Due to the state’s electoral system, some provisional ballots are still slowly being counted.

Governor McCrory has declined to concede the race, hiring a legal team to file a string of complex challenges to the result. He has also filed a challenge with the North Carolina’s State Board of Elections, and signalled that he would demand a state-wide recount.

However, this week Cooper’s lead has passed the critical threshold of 10,000 votes – which means under state law McCrory is not entitled to a taxpayer-funded recount. He could still fund one himself, but analysts say it is now near-impossible for him to overturn the result.

Equality North Carolina Executive Director Chris Sgro said: “Today, we have hit another milestone in the Governor’s race, that Roy Cooper has clearly won.

“The margin is now above 10,000 votes. This marks a decisive victory for Roy Cooper and does not allow for an automatic recount given the size of the margin.

“It’s time for Pat McCrory to concede this race immediately to make sure that the state of North Carolina can go along it’s business with Governor Cooper at its helm.”

Polling revealed that 57 percent of voters put HB2 as the top reason “not to vote for Pat McCrory” – exceeding any other issue by 17 points.

Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin said: “North Carolina just sent a powerful message to the entire country: the days of preying on LGBTQ people for political gain is over.

“McCrory failed to listen to the majority of fair-minded North Carolinians who know that anti-LGBTQ hatred has no place in their state – and he lost big because of it.

“Roy Cooper is a powerful voice for equality and has vowed to work to overturn the hateful and discriminatory HB2. It’s long past time for McCrory to accept reality, concede and let Roy Cooper get on with the important job of actually working on behalf of every North Carolinian.”