On Dec. 5, 27 days after the Nov. 8 election, Democrat gubernatorial candidate Roy Cooper was recognized as the North Carolina governor-elect not only his supporters, but also by republican Gov. Pat McCrory and his staff.

Around noon on Monday, McCrory posted a YouTube video officially conceding the race to Cooper.

“During this wonderful season, it’s also time to celebrate our democratic process and respect what I see to be the ultimate outcome of the closest North Carolina governor’s race in modern history,” McCrory said. “Despite continued questions that should be answered regarding the voting process, I personally believe that the majority of our citizens have spoken, and we now should do everything we can to support the 75th governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper.”

Cooper acknowledged McCrory’s concession and thanked him and his wife for agreeing to aid in a smooth transition.

The governor-elect acknowledged the divisiveness of the past election but optimistically looked toward the future.

“I’m proud to have received the support from so many who believe that we can come together to make a North Carolina that works for everyone,” Cooper said in a statement Monday afternoon.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections will meet later this week to confirm the results.

A ‘hard-fought race’

At 1 a.m. Nov. 9, with 99.56 percent of precincts reporting, Cooper led the race by a slight vote difference of 2,735 according to the State Board of Elections’s website, but the final results of the gubernatorial race have hung in the air because of repeated challenges by McCrory and other members of the GOP.

Around 1:30 a.m. on election night, McCrory said to a crowd of anxious but energized supporters that due to inconclusive results, “The democratic process is going to proceed in North Carolina for a while.”

“We’re going to check everything. We’re going to make sure that every vote counts in North Carolina,” he said. “We’ve got to respect the election system because no one respects democracy more than Gov. Pat McCrory and [his wife] Ann McCrory.”

Cooper’s team, it would seem, had almost made up their minds. Just before 2 a.m., Cooper addressed his assembled supporters and announced a victory for the Democrats.

“It’s been a long journey to get to this point,” Cooper said. “This has been a hard-fought race, but the people of North Carolina have spoken, and they want a change in leadership. We are confident that these results will be certified, and that they will confirm victory.”

On Nov. 10, Team McCrory tweeted, “We are filing paperwork with State Board of Elections to establish legal defense fund in prep of extended contest,” citing voter fraud as one of many reason for needing a recount.

Elon University senior Ashlyn Vogelsang lives in Sanford, North Carolina. She said she disliked the way McCrory was treating the opinions of North Carolinians.

“I just think it’s really un-American of him to not allow the person who his state voted for to assume the position already,” she said. “If he thinks that he’s about true American values, he’s wrong.”

Twenty-two days after the election, on Nov. 30, after the tabulation of provisional ballots and recounts in some individual counties, Cooper finally attained a lead in excess of 10,000 votes ahead of his opponent.

After Cooper passed this threshold, McCrory’s request for a statewide recount could not be granted — according to North Carolina laws — unless he was able to close the gap.

Cooper’s plans for HB2

House Bill 2, also known as HB2, is a primary reason for Cooper’s success in a state won by Donald Trump during the presidential election, according to a number of reputable sources such as The Washington Times and U.S. News & World Report.

Cooper’s election doesn’t mean an immediate repeal of HB2 because of the Republican majority in the North Carolina House of Representatives and state senate — but he has been an outspoken opponent of the law since McCrory signed it in March.

“With politics, a lot of people will sell what the people want to hear in order to get elected,” said sophomore Janay Tyson. “But when they’re actually in office, they do a much different job than what they said they were going to do.

“My hope is that things will get better and turn around and that laws like this won’t get passed in the future, but you never know.”

HB2 prohibits local governments from passing laws that protect members of the LGBTQIA community and requires that transgender individuals use the restrooms corresponding with their gender listed at birth.

When Tyson first heard about the bill, she said she initially realized it was discriminatory toward members of the LGBTQIA community. But she said as she learned more “it definitely got worse.”

Tyson said, “I realized how much broader the bill was and what it encompassed, especially toward ... women, as far as discrimination towards jobs and employment, housing, etc.”

Vogelsang said she can’t understand why McCrory would sign such a law into order.

“I think a lot of people would stand by me in saying it’s a ridiculous law,” she said. “It sets us back many years and it’s time to be progressive and it’s time to let people move us forward.”

In March, Cooper quickly responded to McCrory’s decision to not repeal HB2.

“Not only is this new law a national embarrassment, it will set North Carolina’s economy back if we don’t repeal it,” Cooper said in a statement.

In April, Bruce Springsteen canceled a show in Greensboro in opposition to the law. This was one of many notable show and business cancelings, the 2017 NBA All Star game being one of the most recognizable. The Charlotte Regional Visitor’s Authority estimated the city could lose up to $100 million in potential revenue because of the game’s removal. PayPal also announced it would not be expanding its operations in Charlotte, which the company said would have created 400 jobs.

“It’s sad that ... this one bill, it’s affecting ultimately economies and peoples’ financials as well, not just the lives of individuals,” Tyson said.

Following the NBA’s announcement in July, McCrory released a statement that said, “The sports and entertainment elite, Attorney General Roy Cooper and the liberal media have for months misrepresented our laws and maligned the people of North Carolina simply because most people believe boys and girls should be able to use school bathrooms, locker rooms and showers without the opposite sex present.”

When HB2 was discussed during the gubernatorial debate Oct. 12, McCrory once again shifted the blame to numerous Charlotte leaders.

“It wasn’t needed,” he said. “It wasn’t called for. It was the liberals who brought this up.”