A North Carolina newspaper has broken
its 25-year record of endorsing Governor Pat McCrory.
The Charlotte Observer on Friday
cited McCrory's decision to sign House Bill 2 in declining to endorse
his re-election bid.
House Bill 2 is the controversial bill
signed by McCrory in March. It blocks cities and municipalities from
approving ordinances that prohibit discrimination against the LGBT
community and is the first state law to prohibit transgender people
from using the bathroom of their choice.
Passage of the bill led to a backlash
from business leaders, with some companies reducing investments in
North Carolina. Several high-profile sporting events – including
next year's All-Star Game – were moved to other states.
“McCrory adamantly defends the
discriminatory measure and dismisses the NCAA, the ACC, scores of
business executives and others who have condemned the legislation,”
the
paper wrote. “It was a hateful and self-defeating bill, and it
will be McCrory's legacy.”
The paper instead backed McCrory's Democratic opponent, ending a 25-year record of endorsing McCrory for
various offices throughout his political career, including six years
on the Charlotte City Council and 14 years as Charlotte's mayor.
“[V]oters have a superior option in
Democrat Roy Cooper,” editors wrote. “Cooper has the experience,
the intelligence and the policy stances needed to return the state to
its stature as a progressive leader in the South.”
Cooper, the state's current attorney
general, has opposed House Bill 2 from the start.