Pat McCrory, Governor of North Carolina

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_McCrory

Patrick Lloyd "Pat" McCrory (born October 17, 1956) is an American politician and the 74th Governor of North Carolina, in office since 2013. He previously served a record 14 years as the 53rd Mayor of the city of Charlotte from 1995 to 2009, and as a Charlotte city councilman from 1989 to 1995. McCrory was also appointed by George W. Bush to serve on the United States Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) from 2002 to 2006. In December 2015, McCrory was mentioned as a potential choice for Vice President in the 2016 election.

McCrory was the Republican nominee for Governor of North Carolina in the 2008 general election and was defeated 50% to 46% by then-Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue. After the 2008 election, McCrory returned to the private sector.

On January 31, 2012, he launched his second campaign for governor, winning the election later that year. While mayors of Charlotte have had trouble winning statewide office, McCrory became the first mayor of Charlotte to win the state's highest office, as well as the first Republican state governor since 1993.

In 2016, McCrory came to national attention after signing the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, which legislated that in government buildings, people may only use restrooms that correspond to the sex on their birth certificates, preventing transgender people who do not alter their birth certificates from using the restroom consistent with their gender identity. Several citizens and the United States Department of Justice have filed lawsuits against McCrory and the state, with the Justice Department saying North Carolina is in violation of federal civil rights laws. Separately, McCrory has filed suit against the federal government, asking a court to find the law constitutional.

McCrory faces a competitive re-election campaign against state attorney general Roy Cooper.