House Bill 2 might be North Carolina
Governor Pat McCrory's undoing.
According to a Public Policy Polling
(PPP) released Wednesday, McCrory trails his Democratic rival, Roy
Cooper, the state's attorney general, by 6 percentage points. Cooper
picks up another percentage point when undecideds are asked to choose
between Cooper and McCrory.
McCrory's popularity – currently at
41% – has been under water for the last 39 months in a row.
When asked about House Bill 2, the
controversial law signed by McCrory that limits LGBT protections and
prohibits transgender people from using the bathroom of their choice
in government buildings and schools, 41% of voters say his handling
of the issue makes them less inclined to support him.
Only 39% of voters approve of how he's
handled the issue, to 49% who disapprove.
“McCrory's taken a direct hit thanks
to HB2,” PPP's Tom Jensen wrote in releasing the results.
“There may be one simple reason HB2
is so unpopular – it's a bill targeting LGBT people, yet only 19%
of North Carolinians say they have a negative opinion of LGBT people,
to 47% with a positive one and 34% who are indifferent. A bill
cutting the rights of a group of people that only a small slice of
the electorate has a problem with isn't going to be very popular,”
Jensen
added.