And they’re off!

by | Oct 13, 2015 | 2016 Elections, Editor's Blog, NC Politics, NCGov | 1 comment

For years, North Carolinians joked that election season officially began when the media and others started speculating on what Roy Cooper was going to do. He passed on several Senate races and gubernatorial contest but this year, he’s in. Looking back, those were smart decisions. We’ll see if this year was the right move.

Cooper has long been seen as a political star. He’s smart, with a good-looking family, a strong resume, and no ethical blemishes. After running the attorney general’s office for almost 16 years, there’s no doubt he’s qualified to do the job. The race will come down to Pat McCrory and the direction the state is heading.

Republicans are already making the case that Cooper will take us backwards. They say he’s part of a Democratic establishment that voters have already rejected. They are betting that voters like what the GOP is doing even if polls say people don’t approve of either the governor or the legislature. The public is also sour on key “reforms” like funding private schools with public money and letting teacher pay and per pupil spending drop to Mississippi levels.

Cooper, for his part, can argue that he wants to return North Carolina to its status as a leader in public education. He can argue that the state needs to raise teacher pay to the national average, better prepare our children for school, and keep our university system the economic engine it’s been for the last 60 years.

If It sounds a lot like a campaign from the 1990s, it is. But it also reflects North Carolina values. Contrary to the ideologues driving the state right now, North Carolina has always been proud of its commitment to public education. And supporting our public schools and universities has been a winning argument.

The race will also center on McCrory’s job performance. He’s been a hapless governor who has had little influence over the legislature, lacks the political skill to build public support for an agenda, and has trouble with the truth.  Most polls have shown his approval ratings under water.

However, McCrory’s best when the legislature is not in session so he’s in his element right now. As both Republicans and Democrats have noted, he’s more like the mayor of North Carolina than the governor. He looks good at a ribbon-cutting, seems personable and engaging as long as he’s not talking about policies or issues, and has a self-deprecating sense of humor. He comes across as likable when he’s not coming across as stupid.

McCrory’s foibles offer Cooper and his team a lot of material. They just need to be careful how to use it. If they make him out to be the hapless, ineffective governor, they can’t really blame him for leading the state hard to the right. The subtle difference is he’s the hapless governor who has been ineffective at pushing his own agenda and too incompetent to stop the overreach of the legislators in his own party. Throw in the fact that even members of his own party don’t trust what he says, and Cooper has a powerful argument for voters to fire McCrory.

1 Comment

  1. Keith Thomson

    I pity Pat.

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