Anti-LGBT Law HB2 Reportedly Cost State Billions
North Carolina first-term Republican Governor Pat McCrory appears to have lost his re-election bid over his anti-LGBT law HB2. Roy Cooper, the state’s Democratic attorney general who refused to defend HB2 in court, has declared victory, but the election has not been certified. Less than 4000 votes separate them.
Cooper is up about 4000 votes over McCrory. Recent polls were not in McCrory’s favor.Â
The gubernatorial race in the Tar Heel State has been one of the most hotly contested of the election cycle, and it could be one with far-reaching impact.
Cooper and McCrory have sparred over several issues for the past few months, with Cooper slamming McCrory’s record on healthcare, economic issues, the environment, and of course, HB2.
HB2 voided LGBT nondiscrimination ordinances throughout the state. It attacks transgender citizens by revoking their right to use public restrooms based on gender identity. It also mandates that only state lawmakers can pass laws regulating employment discrimination, the use of public accommodations, and minimum wages – removing the right of self determination from every town and city across the state.
HB2
The full economic impact of HB2 is not yet known, but an estimate from the Williams Institute expects the state to lose almost $5 billion a year as long as HB2 is in effect. This does not include court costs for the legal battle surrounding the anti-LGBT bill which made international headlines.
As the state’s attorney general, it would generally be assumed it would be his job to defend the state’s actions when they are taken to court. But Cooper chose not to defend HB2, leaving McCrory to defend the law himself and seek outside legal help. This gives the state responsibility for paying lawyers instead of allowing Cooper to take their side in the suit.
McCrory didn’t take kindly to Cooper’s decision, and has continued to defend HB2 despite its growing unpopularity in the state. While neither campaign site even mentions the issue, it’s a deciding factor in the race.
A Public Policy report from May shows just 35% of the state in favor of the law.
NC Republicans are embarrassed by HB2, so much so that they tried to interfere when the Charlotte Observer hosted a forum about the issue which featured neither gubernatorial candidate. A letter to the NC Board of Elections the week of the forum called the discussion a campaign event, in spite of the forum featuring both people in favor of and people opposed to HB2.
Healthcare
North Carolina is one of 19 states that has not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Cooper not only slams the state on his website, he points to his past involvement in health care policy, including a lawsuit filed against Carolinas Healthcare System, the largest network in the state, for putting contract requirements in place to limit competition with other healthcare systems and push costs higher.
McCrory, on the other hand, privatized the state’s Medicaid system last year, contracting three companies to offer plans for people on Medicaid and allowing for 10 networks to work through regional plans. This handed a significant part of the state’s healthcare system to the free market.
Cooper’s position puts him at an advantage with issue voters, as Public Policy Polling showed that 72% of voters would back an expansion of Medicaid to cover the gap between the current program and the ACA.
Economy
One of McCory’s proudest talking points was that his economic plans have been good for the state. He has pointed to the state’s growing GDP and population as a sign that his economics have worked. Politifact rated his claim true, using only GDP as an economic indicator in April of 2016, before the economic impact of HB2 was entirely obvious.
However, according to NC Policy Watch, the GDP is not the only thing that matters. The labor market has not improved under McCrory and the state’s average weekly pay is about $80 less than the national average.
Cooper is against lowering only corporate taxes, and wants to focus on increasing income for people in the workforce. His campaign website says that under McCrory’s direction the state is “the butt of jokes for late night comedy†and calls this “self-sabotage.â€Â
Environment
Roy Cooper’s campaign focused heavily on environmental issues, touting his support for the Clean Smokestacks Act, which requires companies to cut down on emissions.
Meanwhile, McCrory attempted to create jobs by cutting back environmental regulations with HB74.
A defining difference between the two politicians came after a Duke Energy pipe malfunctioned, spilling thousands of tons of coal ash into the Dan River. McCrory attacked Cooper for fighting cleanup efforts, but there was no evidence of Cooper actually doing so. Cooper fired back by pointing out that a leading state scientist had already accused McCrory of lying to the public about the Duke Energy spill.
McCrory worked for Duke Energy for 29 years prior to his political career.
Voting Rights
Cooper’s campaign website highlights his plan to make voting more accessible to everyone. He opposes voter ID laws and wants to reinstate same-day registration.
McCrory has ink on his face after his administration’s voter ID laws were found by a court to be racially discriminatory. The Supreme Court split 4-4 on the issue, which let stand the lower court’s ruling and stopped the practice of requiring the type of ID that was needed from NC voters. Â
These issues led to an apparent Cooper victory. Polls in the race have been tight for months, but Cooper had been the favorite for the last month of the race.
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