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Repubs who don’t live here are baffled but don’t get it- Cooper beat a *very* unpopular governor with the middle class business vote. His measured handling of Covid, name recognition, and obscurity of his opponent are why he got more votes than ANY NC candidate. #ncpol https://twitter.com/diamondandsilk/status/1326380258392748033
Cooper also benefited tremendously from being a lame duck governor (GOP majority in the General Assembly), in that he didn’t actually *do* any legislating that could upset the swing voters who got him past McCrory. #ncpol
For the business owners of NC, this balance of power (a Democrat to stop the GA from passing any unpopular legislation, wanting to avoid another HB-2 situation) is very stable and thus, preferable to a hardliner like Dan Forest, who is more akin to McCrory. #ncpol
HB-2 has cast a long shadow on NC politics, and will continue to do so. It’s nearly 5 years now, but the ACC and NBA (amongst others) withdrawing their events from NC venues infuriated the one voting bloc who could screw McCrory: middle class business owners. #ncpol
NC’s business class are all over the place politically, but by causing them and their cities to lose BILLIONS in revenue sent enough to Cooper’s corner to *squeak* past McCrory in a state Trump and Burr won handily in 2016. #ncpol
Since, Cooper has been very popular, especially as the moderating wall against the Assembly. His handling of the pandemic has been definitely pushed by election pressure, but he’s fared better than most. In this he’s been rewarded with a pretty solid vote of confidence. #ncpol
So why did Dan Forest lose? Aside from his notable campaign sign gimmick (3 signs that read “Run Forest Run”), Forest is not well known. Or well-liked, for that matter, spending most of his term as Lt. Gov. heckling Cooper and gearing up for his 2020 campaign. #ncpol
Forest also did himself no favors on public opinion by repeatedly attempting to undermine Cooper’s pandemic plan, including taking him to court to try and invalidate his executive orders, to which he was beaten (badly). #ncpol
Forest’s ties to McCrory also harmed him tremendously, similarly how Clinton’s ties to Obama did 4 years ago- he was too similar a candidate, too clearly a return to McCrory’s unpopular policymaking that could (or would) cost the state money. #ncpol
Thank you for your time if you’ve made it to the end of this thread on the North Carolina Gubernatorial Election! I hope you have a pleasant night! #ncpol
