Pat McCrory formally opened his second campaign for governor Tuesday, vowing North Carolina voters "won't get fooled again" into rejecting a Republican as they did four years ago and declaring nothing has changed under yet another Democrat in the Executive Mansion.
Cheered on by more than 400 supporters at a Greensboro meeting hall, McCrory said he would fix what he called a broken economy and broken state government that Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue and her predecessor Mike Easley had failed to fix. McCrory narrowly lost to Perdue in 2008.
McCrory walked into the Oriental Shrine Club to a standing ovation and the rock anthem "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who. The former Charlotte mayor said he would work to reduce income taxes, encourage merit pay for teachers, reduce needless regulations and push for offshore exploration of energy off the North Carolina coast.
"My goal is to be your governor, to lead this great state and to make sure that we have a better future for generations to come," McCrory told the crowd, which included family and old high school friends from nearby Jamestown, where he spent most of his childhood. "With your help, we will succeed. Do not get fooled again."
It appeared for the past year that McCrory and Perdue were headed for a rematch, but Perdue announced last week she wouldn't seek re-election.
McCrory, 55, referred to the rock song again to say the "old boss" — whom he pegged as establishment Democrats who have held most of state government for more than a century until recently — "want to hang on to their status quo and failed leadership."
Four years ago, McCrory was the fresh face in the gubernatorial campaign, hastily arranging a staff and within four months winning a crowded GOP primary field. He ran on a platform of ending the "culture of corruption" in Raleigh under Democratic rule but fell short by 3 percentage points to Perdue, who outspent him.
He blamed his loss in part on President Barack Obama's coattails, which helped Perdue run even with McCrory in his home county surrounding Charlotte.
This time around, McCrory's bid has been anything but rushed — he's purposefully laid the groundwork for a bid.
He assembled a staff in 2011 and with help of the likes of Govs. Chris Christie of New Jersey and Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, McCrory's campaign committee has raised $4 million. This focused activity has all but made certain he won't face a credible opponent in a May primary.
Now it's unclear who McCrory will face in the fall after Perdue announced she wouldn't seek a second term.
Two Democrats already have entered the race — Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton of Rutherfordton and state Rep. Bill Faison of Orange County.
Dalton released a statement before McCrory's speech calling his plans "a destructive agenda that embraces a backwards-facing vision that cuts education funding, slashes teaching jobs and hurts our ability to recruit new business."
McCrory is opposed to an effort unveiled by Perdue and backed by Dalton to raise the sales tax temporarily to fill in education cuts in last year's Republican-written state budget.
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