North Carolina's Anti-LGBT Gov. McCrory, Trailing By 9,000+ Votes, Refuses To Concede

Gov. Pat McCrory (L) and Attorney General Roy Cooper (R)

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory, who infamously signed the anti-LGBT legislation known as HB 2 into law, refuses to concede to his Democratic opponent, current state Attorney General Roy Cooper even though Cooper leads by over 9,000 votes.

From The Advocate:

McCrory, infamous for signing the state’s anti-LGBT House Bill 2 into law, said Saturday that he would withdraw his demand for a statewide recount in exchange for a hand recount of votes in Durham County, which is heavily Democratic, The Charlotte Observer reports. The State Board of Elections met Sunday but took no action on that request, with members saying they had not received it in writing.

Cooper, whose lead has grown since Election Night, released a video Sunday declaring victory in the election, and Monday his attorney, Marc Elias, made that same point in a teleconference with reporters, the Charlotte Business Journal reports. “The math is simply clear. … Governor-elect Roy Cooper has won this race,” Elias said.

Cooper, currently the state’s attorney general, was a major opponent of HB 2, passed in March. He refused to defend it in court and called it a “national embarrassment.”

The law, among other things, prevents municipalities from enacting or enforcing LGBT-inclusive antidiscrimination ordinances, and it bars transgender people, when in government buildings, from using restrooms, locker rooms, and other single-sex facilities that match their gender identity.

HB 2 has cost the state millions is lost business as dozens of conventions, concerts and other events have cancelled over the hateful legislation.