Pat McCrory is a hard man to pin down. If you ask a business leader in Charlotte, they might tell you he’s the visionary who built the Lynx Light Rail and turned a "sleepy" banking town into a powerhouse. But talk to a civil rights activist in Raleigh, and they’ll likely lead with the infamous "Bathroom Bill" that cost the state millions in lost revenue.
Honestly, he’s both.
Serving as the 74th Governor of North Carolina from 2013 to 2017, McCrory presided over a period of explosive growth and equally explosive controversy. He was the first Republican governor since 1988, breaking a long-standing Democratic lock on the Executive Mansion. Before that, he was Charlotte’s longest-serving mayor. You’ve probably heard his name recently in connection with the No Labels movement or his 2022 Senate run, but his impact on North Carolina is deeper than just headlines.
The "Carolina Comeback" and the Economic Shift
When Pat McCrory took office in 2013, the state was still licking its wounds from the Great Recession. Unemployment was high—the fourth highest in the nation, actually.
McCrory leaned into his corporate background at Duke Energy. He branded his strategy the "Carolina Comeback." Basically, the plan was to slash the corporate tax rate and overhaul the personal income tax system.
It worked, at least on paper.
By the end of his term, North Carolina had one of the fastest-growing economies in the country. Private sector jobs were up by over 300,000. He paid off a $2.5 billion debt to the federal government for unemployment insurance. For many, this was the "golden era" of Republican governance in the South.
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Infrastructure and the Mayor of Charlotte
You can’t talk about North Carolina Pat McCrory without talking about his 14 years as mayor. He wasn’t a typical Republican. He loved mass transit.
In a state where "light rail" is often seen as a dirty word by fiscal conservatives, McCrory pushed it through. He worked with unlikely allies, including U.S. Senator Jesse Helms, to secure $200 million for Charlotte’s rail system. He understood that a city can’t grow if everyone is stuck in a 2-hour commute on I-77.
He also spearheaded the effort to bring the NASCAR Hall of Fame to Charlotte. He helped recruit TIAA-CREF and General Dynamics. He transformed Uptown from a ghost town at 5:00 PM into a place where people actually lived.
The HB2 Controversy: A Turning Point
Then came 2016. Everything changed with House Bill 2, better known as the "Bathroom Bill."
It started as a reaction to a Charlotte city ordinance that allowed transgender people to use the bathroom of the gender they identified with. The state legislature—and McCrory—saw this as government overreach. They passed HB2 in a single day.
The backlash was instant.
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- The NBA moved the All-Star Game out of Charlotte.
- The NCAA and ACC pulled championship games.
- PayPal and Deutsche Bank canceled expansion plans.
- Bruce Springsteen and other artists canceled concerts.
McCrory called it "common sense." He argued he was protecting privacy. But the "Carolina Comeback" brand took a massive hit. Suddenly, the pragmatic mayor who built trains was the face of a national culture war.
It’s widely believed this is what cost him his re-election. In a year where Donald Trump won North Carolina by nearly 4 points, McCrory lost to Roy Cooper by just over 10,000 votes. He became the first sitting N.C. governor to lose a re-election bid.
Life After the Mansion: 2022 and No Labels
Since leaving office, McCrory hasn't exactly gone into a quiet retirement. He spent years hosting a popular radio show in Charlotte, keeping his voice in the mix.
In 2022, he tried for the U.S. Senate. It didn't go well. He ran as a traditional "Main Street" Republican, but the party had moved on. Ted Budd, backed by a Trump endorsement, blew him out in the primary. McCrory later admitted he had a "blind spot" for how much the Trump endorsement would matter.
Recently, he’s been a national co-chair for No Labels.
He’s frustrated with the "rigged" two-party system. He’s spent the last year touring and talking about the need for a third way. "I couldn't get elected dog catcher in Charlotte," he joked during a 2026 talk in Fayetteville, acknowledging that his brand of politics—centrist on some things, staunchly conservative on others—doesn't fit into today's neat boxes.
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What Most People Get Wrong About McCrory
People tend to see him as a caricature. To the left, he’s a social conservative extremist. To the MAGA right, he’s a "RINO" (Republican In Name Only) because he liked light rail and wasn't a Trump loyalist from day one.
The reality is more nuanced. McCrory was a pioneer of the modern, pro-business North Carolina. He raised teacher pay after years of stagnation. He passed a massive $2 billion "Connect NC" bond for universities and parks.
But he also signed some of the strictest voter ID laws in the country, which federal courts later struck down as "targeting African Americans with almost surgical precision."
His legacy is a tangle of economic success and social friction.
Actionable Insights for North Carolina Observers
If you're trying to understand the current political landscape in North Carolina, looking at Pat McCrory’s career is the best place to start.
- Watch the Suburban Vote: McCrory’s rise and fall mirrors the Republican struggle with suburban voters in places like Wake and Mecklenburg counties.
- Economic vs. Social Policy: His tenure shows that a strong economy doesn't always provide a "shield" against social controversy.
- Third-Party Movements: His work with No Labels highlights a growing segment of "unaffiliated" voters in NC who now outnumber both Democrats and Republicans.
Whether you see him as a builder or a divider, you can't deny that North Carolina Pat McCrory shaped the state we live in today. From the skyline of Charlotte to the heated debates in the General Assembly, his fingerprints are everywhere.
To truly understand the "New South," you have to understand the man who tried to bridge the gap between old-school business conservatism and the modern culture war—and the high price he paid for it.