Pat McCrory, North Carolina's new Republican governor, is no stranger to running for office. He had served on the Charlotte city council from 1989 to 1995, when he successfully ran for mayor of Charlotte, serving until 2009. An unsuccessful bid for governor in 2008 did not phase McCrory, who came back in 2012 to win the highest office in the state, due largely to the amount of money he was able to raise. The Republican candidate managed to acquire $11.5 million, a superior amount when compared to the paltry $3.9 million his Democratic challenger, Walter Dalton, managed to raise. This cash advantage allowed McCrory to run a much larger advertising campaign to help lead him to victory, in addition to having several big name Republican governors make appearances, like Scott Walker of Wisconsin, and Chris Christie of New Jersey.
McCrory's victory could also have been chalked up to him being in the right place at the right time. North Carolina's unemployment rate has stayed around 9.6%, one of the highest in the country. This, combined with an unpopular view of the prior governor, Bev Perdue, created a perfect storm for a Republican to take control of this state that has had particularly competitive state-level politics.
McCrory North Carolina Governor Profile - USA Today
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