Roy Cooper was sworn in as North
Carolina's 75th governor just minutes after midnight
Sunday morning.
Cooper, who narrowly beat outgoing
Republican Governor Pat McCrory, sounded upbeat even as he faces
Republican majorities in the House and Senate.
“I'm aware of the solemn
responsibility that I've been given and the duty that I have to
uphold the constitution,” he said shortly after being sworn in. “I
cannot wait to get started.”
In a 15-minute video released Saturday,
McCrory touted his administration's accomplishments and blamed
response to a law he signed that targets the LGBT community for his
reelection loss.
“I wish with this manufactured crisis
that occurred in Charlotte regarding a social issue that none of us
had heard of, I wish I would have been successful in convincing
Charlotte not to start this masquerade of an issue, that no doubt had
an impact on my future election and on North Carolina in a very
unfair way,” McCrory
said, adding that was “unsuccessful in convincing the
Legislature maybe not to overreact.”
McCrory and other Republican leaders
warned Charlotte that they would respond if the city approved an LGBT
protections ordinance. House Bill 2 blocks cities and municipalities
from enacting such anti-discrimination bans. But its provision
prohibiting transgender people from using the bathroom of their
choice in many buildings was a last-minute addition to the law that
pushed many groups, companies and celebrities to act.
While McCrory defended the law during
the campaign, Cooper pledged to repeal it.
(Related: The
Advocate
names Pat McCrory its Phobie of the Year.)