Patrick Lloyd McCrory (born October 17, 1956)[2][3] is an American politician, businessman, and radio host who served as the 74th governor of North Carolina from 2013 to 2017.

Senator Jesse Helms, McCrory made efforts to secure $200 million in federal funds for the city's new Lynx Light Rail system.

McCrory led the effort to recruit such companies as TIAA-CREF, General Dynamics Armament, The Westin Hotel, and Johnson & Wales University.

McCrory has also been involved in many national organizations, having served as president of the Republican Mayors and Local Officials (RMLO) organization; chairman of the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) Committee for Housing and Community Development; six-term Chair of the USCM Environmental Committee; and founder and inaugural chairman of the North Carolina Metropolitan Coalition.

McCrory was also the only elected official to serve on the national board of the Afterschool Alliance and was a featured Mayor in Harvard University's Faith-based Executive Session.

McCrory reportedly commissioned a poll to test the waters for a run for governor in November 2007, shortly after his seventh mayoral re-election victory, but well after other Republican gubernatorial candidates had begun campaigning.

[34] In the primary election on May 6, 2008, McCrory defeated four opponents, including State Senator Fred Smith, to win the Republican nomination for governor.

[37] In the general election, Democratic lieutenant governor Bev Perdue raised $5.6 million and ran attack ads against McCrory, criticizing him on various issues.

[41] Pundits speculated that Perdue was hurt by belonging to the same party as the increasingly unpopular incumbent Governor Mike Easley, and by McCrory's efforts to tag her as part of corruption in Raleigh.

The law was unique in that it allowed inmates facing the death penalty to use broad statistics to challenge their sentences on the basis of alleged racial discrimination.

[69] In July 2016, a three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the photo ID provisions, finding that they targeted African Americans "with almost surgical precision" and that the legislators had acted with "discriminatory intent" in enacting the strict election rules.

[82] In July 2013, McCrory signed tax reform legislation that created a modified flat-tax system for the state by specifying a single income-tax rate and a larger standard deduction but eliminating the personal exemption.

The legislation, according to the bill, was "an act to improve and streamline the regulatory process in order to stimulate job creation, to eliminate unnecessary regulation, to make various other statutory changes, and to amend certain environmental and natural resource laws.

[91] McCrory issued his first veto as governor in August 2013, of a bill that would have required people applying for welfare benefits to pass a drug test.

[92] He later also vetoed a bill that extended from 90 days to nine months the amount of time that an employee could work without undergoing a background check in the E-Verify system.

[100] In a nationally broadcast radio interview with conservative talk-show host William Bennett, McCrory made a series of comments on the future of higher education in North Carolina that generated controversy.

"[101] Several bills signed into law by McCrory and multiple pieces of proposed legislation were the target of ongoing "Moral Monday" civil disobedience protests during his tenure, organized in part by local religious leaders[102][103] including William Barber II, head of the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP at the time.

[107] Following a February 2, 2014, coal ash spill that was the third-largest of its kind in US history, the US Attorney's Office opened a grand-jury investigation into Duke Energy.

[111] Duke Energy was fined $99,111 for leaks from ponds at two power plants; the amount was part of a deal made by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources' secretary, John E. Skvarla III, a McCrory appointee.

Senate Democratic Leader Dan Blue said "This bill essentially repeals 50 years of non-discrimination efforts and gives lawmakers in Raleigh unprecedented control over our city and local governments."

[123] On March 23, 2016, the legislature sent the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act to the governor's desk for his signature and McCrory signed the bill on the same evening it passed.

[125] Time Warner Cable News estimated that as of April 22, the law had cost the state over 1750 jobs and over $77 million of investments and visitor spending.

Republicans also noted HB2 had no jurisdiction over private facilities, meaning the league could set any bathroom policy it preferred for games it was to host in Charlotte.

"[134] McCrory's executive order also encouraged the General Assembly to reinstate the ability for residents to sue an employer in state court for discrimination.

[137] On July 1, 2016, WBTV reported members of the General Assembly had an agreement in place to come back into session and repeal some of the more controversial portions of HB2.

The state Carolina Republican Party said Cooper helped kill their modification bill in order to keep the controversial issue alive in his bid to unseat McCrory.

A Cooper campaign spokesperson said the A.G. remained concerned about the damage HB 2 was doing to the North Carolina economy and, "...has consistently urged members to pursue a full repeal."

"Unfortunately Governor McCrory and legislative Republicans have repeatedly offered so-called 'fixes' that fail the basic test of undoing the economic damage done by this discriminatory law.

This isn't that complicated: instead of pointing fingers and holding secret negotiations, lawmakers should simply repeal HB 2 and send a message that North Carolina is open for business.

[145] Towards the end of his term in office, in September 2016, a poll commissioned by Bloomberg Politics reported 49% of North Carolinians approving of his job performance, and 44% disapproved.