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Democrats use HB2 to attack McCrory

A new ad features clips of reporters talking about business losses to the state as a result of the controversial House Bill 2.

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DGA McCrory ad image
By
Mark Binker
RALEIGH, N.C. — Democrats and a liberal super PAC are using the controversial House Bill 2 to criticize Gov. Pat McCrory in a new television ad.

McCrory, a Republican, is running for re-election against Democrat Roy Cooper, the state's attorney general. The two men are on opposite sides of the debate over House Bill 2, a measure that overturned Charlotte's transgender nondiscrimination ordinance and limits protections for LGBT people. McCrory has defended the law as "common sense" legislation, while Cooper has called it a "national disgrace" and refused to defend it in court.

The ad, which is backed by the Democratic Governors Association and NC Families First, uses clips of news reports on PayPal, Bank of America and other big businesses criticizing the law. NC Families First is a liberal independent spending organization that was also active during the 2014 campaign.

"Pat McCrory’s new discrimination law is putting North Carolina’s economy and jobs at risk," DGA Communications Director Jared Leopold said in a statement. "This new ad will help inform North Carolinians about the economic damage caused by Pat McCrory’s wrong priorities. Governor McCrory is taking North Carolina backwards and making it harder to bring new businesses and good jobs to North Carolina."

The DGA says it has put "six figures" – at least $100,000 – into buying air time for the ad and that it will initially run in Charlotte. Paperwork filed with the Federal Communications Commission confirms the ad is slated to begin running on Charlotte broadcast television stations.

"It's no surprise Roy Cooper's Washington, D.C.-backed allies are already resorting to negative attacks aimed at tearing Governor McCrory and the state of North Carolina down," McCrory camapign spokesman Ricky Diaz said. "One thing they forgot to include in the ad is that 11 Democrats also voted to repeal the overreaching ordinance passed by the the far-left on the Charlotte city council." 

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