NC governor: Voter fraud swung election against me

Gov. Pat McCrory (R-N.C.) is claiming voter fraud derailed his reelection campaign, according to a new report.

McCrory alleges that voter fraud in 50 of North Carolina’s 100 counties boosted state Attorney General Roy Cooper (D) to a slim lead in the undecided gubernatorial race, Politico said Monday.

{mosads}The News & Observer reported Cooper leads McCrory by less than 1 percentage point two weeks after Election Day.

McCrory has not conceded the race and is insisting that dead people, felons and individuals who voted in other states cast ballots in North Carolina.

“Why is Roy Cooper so insistent on circumventing the electoral process and counting the votes of dead people and felons?” Ricky Diaz, a McCrory campaign spokesman, asked in a statement Monday to Politico.

“It may be because he needs those fraudulent votes to win. Instead of insulting North Carolina voters, we intend to let the process work as it should to ensure that every legal vote is counted properly.”

Cooper’s campaign strategist, meanwhile, said McCrory should acknowledge the Democrat’s lead and relinquish the governor’s office.

“In light of the Republican-controlled state and local Board of Elections summarily rejecting McCrory’s frivolous requests, it’s just time for Gov. McCrory to concede,” Morgan Jackson said.

“It’s time for him to stop wasting taxpayer dollars. It’s time for him to stop putting up needless delays and to finally put the people of North Carolina above his own self-interest.”

North Carolina’s State Board of Elections on Sunday rejected a request from McCrory’s campaign to take over all election protest reviews.

At least eight county election boards, all of them Republican, have rejected the majority of the governor’s complaints so far. Several more counties are holding evidentiary hearings later this week.

A final decision in North Carolina’s gubernatorial race may not come for several more weeks, Politico said, due to the margin separating Cooper and McCrory. Cooper’s margin over McCrory is predicted to remain below 10,000 votes, meaning McCrory can call for a recount.

Cooper leads McCrory by about 6,600 votes, according to the latest News & Observer tally of county-by-county results since Nov. 8.