Democratic candidate and Attorney General Roy Cooper has a lead over Gov. Pat McCrory, polling at 48.5 percent to McCrory’s 44.5 percent, according to the Real Clear Politics polling average.
Michael Bitzer, a professor of political science at Catawba College, said the negative publicity surrounding HB2 has hurt McCrory. He said McCrory’s emphasis on economic recovery in his campaign is at odds with his support of HB2.
A recent High Point University poll found 61 percent of N.C. prospective voters said the economic impact of HB2 has been large.
“He’s trying to make it an election about the economy and about how things have come back for the state,” Bitzer said. “But when you have major companies like the ACC and the NCAA announce that they’re pulling out of the state, that tends to take a narrative that doesn’t fit with how he’s trying to frame the issue.”
McCrory’s support of HB2 shows his alignment with the Republican state legislature, said Ferrel Guillory, a UNC journalism professor.
“I don’t think McCrory is going to win or lose because of HB2,” he said. “But it has become a signature omen that defined McCrory as having gone along with the sharp conservative agenda of the legislature.”
Bitzer said the attention on McCrory has allowed Cooper to stay out of the limelight.
Guillory said teacher pay and public education are also important to voters in this election. The High Point poll found 81 percent of prospective voters thought public school teachers were paid too little.
