“I’m still not convinced that Cooper was fairly elected.”
Likely there was voter fraud particularly in Durham. However, McCrory ran a very poor campaign. Cooper, with out of state money, pounded McCrory on the airwaves for 6 months while McCrory’s advertising didn’t come until the last few weeks before the election. McCrory also failed to hit the campaign trail. Finally, he sealed his fate by supporting funding the widening of Interstate 77 north of Charlotte by converting it to a toll road administered by a foreign company. That didn’t play well with the middle class commuters from outlying communities to Charlotte. The votes he lost along the I77 corridor from his first election in 2012, to his loss in 2016, would have given him the margin of victory over Cooper.
Overall McCrory was a good governor. Unfortunately instead of aggressively touting his accomplishments, and attacking his socialist opponent, he ran a typical Republican establishment defensive campaign. When will GOP campaign consultants recognize the era of gentlemanly campaigns is long gone? Democrats come to the battle prepared to fight in the gutter. As Trump has demonstrated, when you engage in a blood sport, you need to always hit harder than your opponent and you can never let any attack be unchallenged.
Trump won in NC, Burr won reelection to the Senate, Republicans dominated the Congressional elections and control the state legislature. Had McCrory run a strong, aggressive campaign in 2016, and resisted special interests on the I77 toll road, he would have been reelected despite the infamous bathroom bill.
So when does Texas vote on their version? Sooner the better. The asshat that runs the NFL has threatened them lets hope that doesn’t work. What is it with pro sports?