N.C. Governor Calls Special Session, Concedes Election

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BRADENTON, Fla. - North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory has called on lawmakers to convene in a special session to address Hurricane Matthew relief efforts.

The session, to be held Dec. 13, likely will be McCrory's last one as governor. He conceded his narrow election defeat Monday.

McCrory announced the special session Friday in Lenoir County, at the last of five regional meetings about recovery from the hurricane that brushed the eastern part of the state Oct. 8-9.

"Now that we have received input directly from the communities most impacted by Hurricane Matthew, I am officially requesting that the legislature convene for a special session to address these important needs as quickly as possible," McCrory said.

The state's initial assessment estimated that the hurricane caused $2 billion in economic damage.

McCrory said he wants legislators to approve a finance plan, although he did not release specifics about the measures to be considered, including whether he would support issuing bonds to finance recovery efforts.

On Monday, he posted a video on Twitter conceding his loss for a second term in the Nov. 8 election, a loss he would not acknowledge for nearly a month after contending there were a number of voting irregularities.

"Despite continued questions that should be answered regarding the voting process, I personally believe that the majority of our citizens have spoken and we should now do everything we can to support the 75th governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper," McCrory said in the video.

Cooper, a Democrat and the state's attorney general, won the election by 10,263 votes, according to the State Board of Elections website.

If the voting difference had been less than 10,000, a statewide recount could have been required.

McCrory's concession speech came as a recount was underway in Durham County Monday - a recount that he sought.

McCrory had also requested that the State Bureau of Investigation look into alleged voting irregularities in Bladen County, despite a unanimous vote by the State Board of Elections Saturday dismissing an election protest filed by Leslie McCrae Dowless Jr. of Bladen County.

The board said there was "a lack of substantial evidence of a violation of election law or other irregularity or misconduct sufficient to cast doubt on the results of the election."

The elections board, without explanation, also voted unanimously to turn over all the information it collected in the Bladen County case to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

In his concession speech, McCrory said Monday that his administration will leave North Carolina in a "much better place" than when he started because of the initiatives that he put in place.

Those initiatives, he said, included addressing teacher pay, environmental clean-up measures, growing a state budget surplus, paying off debt, and backing the voter-approved $2 billion NC Connect general obligation bond program to finance state and higher education capital needs.

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