November. The time for fall, Thanksgiving, Final Exams, and also the most important election season in years. While many people are continuing to focus on the election of our next President, North Carolina has an important battle on their hands as well. The election of the next governor will set the tone for the state for the next 4 years. Republican incumbent Pat McCrory is vying for another term as governor while Democratic nominee, Attorney General Roy Cooper is hoping to take that away from him.
Dem-Roy Copper (pictured left), Republican-Pat Mcrory(right)
Interestingly enough, McCrory has had a tough fight on his hands. In the recent months, McCrory has been criticized harshly for the passing of House Bill 2 (HB2) also known as the “bathroom bill”. Since the passage of HB2, North Carolina has lost millions of dollars, jobs and even events. Most notable lost to the bill was the NBA All-Star game to be held in Charlotte, North Carolina in February. Since the NBA is one of the biggest known supporters of LGBT rights, many questioned what the NBA would do. On July 21st, the NBA officially pulled the All-Star game away from Charlotte, costing the city millions and potentially scarring the city of Charlotte in the future. Since then, the ACC, CIAA, and NCAA have moved almost all of their championship games away from North Carolina. Several schools and states have even banned travel to North Carolina due to the bill.
Even more damaging to McCrory’s campaign, is the issue with teacher pay in North Carolina. At the present time, North Carolina ranks 41st in the nation for teacher pay. McCrory has stated numerous times that teacher pay and public education has improved greatly in the state, but teachers have just reached a salary pay of $50,000, and that’s not including first year teachers.
Although McCrory has some issues to work out, Roy Cooper also has some questions to answer as well. One question that many people seek to have answered is the current issue with the State Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab. In recent years, the news dropped that the lab tainted over 231 cases in North Carolina. Throughout his ads, Cooper has stated that the crime lab issue had been resolved, but many are still questioning his answer. The problem in the crime lab hasn’t been “fixed” but they have been making progress. Also, the biggest concern among voters is Cooper’s response to Obamacare. Many in the state refuse to endorse Obamacare, specifically McCrory. In most cases, many North Carolinians have had to pay more on their premiums than before. But Cooper continues to support Obamacare and believes that it will make a huge difference for North Carolina citizens. Cooper believes that affordable health care should be for all, although many are seeing the word affordable as costly. Regardless, these two issues could help or hurt Cooper in the upcoming election.
At the present time, polls show Cooper with a good margin lead against McCrory. Only the Elon polls have both tied in the race. Since early voting in North Carolina ended on Saturday and the discussion of black voters not getting out to early vote, one can imagine how nerve-racking this election can be. The state of North Carolina must decide what they want to identify themselves as. More importantly, we must decide what we stand for in this state. With thousands of jobs and dollars lost in this state within the last few months, this election is the most important election for North Carolinians. The decision to stand with Pat McCrory or to switch paths and give Roy Cooper a chance will be left in the hands of North Carolina voters on November 8th, 2016.