RALEIGH — Just after midnight Wednesday morning, Republican North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory and his wife, Ann McCrory, took to the stage at Raleigh Marriott in Crabtree Valley, North Carolina, to address his eager and anxious supporters.
He announced that, because of the fraction of a percentage point separating him and his opponent, Democratic North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, in the polls, an official canvassing of votes would need to take place before an official victor could be declared.
This announcement followed hours of nail-biting on both sides of the aisle, as Cooper and McCrory remained neck and neck for most of the evening. McCrory eventually gained a slight lead, with 95 percent of precincts reporting, and it began to look as if his second term was secure.
Moments later, with more than 98 percent of precincts reporting, Cooper barely pulled ahead. It was just before midnight, and the two were separated by fewer than 3,000 votes.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections announced that 93,000 votes were yet to be counted from Durham County. McCrory decided it was time to speak.
He addressed the unaccounted-for votes with obvious distaste, commenting on how strange it was that those ballots had not been tallied sooner. His audience responded with boisterous booing and applause.
McCrory stressed that the canvassing was necessary in order to ensure that “every vote counts” and praised the democratic process.
North Carolina GOP Director of Communications Kami Mueller said the canvassing will address the issues in Durham County and carefully tally outstanding overseas, mail-in and provisional ballots. Mueller said she thinks votes from members of the military stationed overseas who are tired of the Democratic Party could swing the vote in McCrory’s favor.
Those in attendance were disappointed by the lack of a definitive victor but appeared hopeful that the results — to be released Nov. 18 — will prove to be good news for McCrory.
The word of the night was “joyful,” said one McCrory spokesman early in the evening, and it was — not only because of the fervor of the gubernatorial race, but also the many successes of Republicans across the country.
McCrory congratulated North Carolina GOP members who had successfully won their races earlier in the evening, Sen. Richard Burr among those winners. He also voiced his pleasure with President-elect Donald Trump’s many successes throughout the evening and expressed his hope that the trend of Republican victories would continue.
Before departing for the night, McCrory asked his supporters to once again lend a hand toward Hurricane Matthew relief efforts, encouraging them to make donations. He reminded his audience that many North Carolinians in the eastern part of the state have yet to get their lives back on track.