Pat and Roy: Contest for N.C. governor likely to be among nation's most riveting

National attention has focused on the race for president and the heat it already has generated, even before the primaries are completed.

But here in North Carolina we have the makings of a race just as competitive and compelling as any -- the race for governor.

The contest pits incumbent Republican Pat McCrory against Democrat challenger Roy Cooper, the state's attorney general.

In truth, Cooper has been eyeing a run for the governor's mansion for years, and he has made no bones about the fact that he would do things much differently than McCrory if elected.

They already have had more than one run-in, with Cooper's refusal to defend the recently approved transgender bathroom law signed by McCrory as the most public example.

McCrory will be relying on his record over the past four years. Cooper will be relying on those disgruntled by the direction McCrory and the Republican legislature have taken the state.

It is expected to be an expensive battle and one that the whole nation will be watching.

Published in Editorials on April 3, 2016 12:27 AM