North Carolina's new governor is 1978 Catawba College alumnus, Pat McCrory. McCrory, a seven-term mayor of Charlotte, successfully ran as N.C.'s Republican gubernatorial candidate, defeating Democratic nominee and N.C. Lt. Governor, Walter Dalton, in the Nov. 6 election.
With nearly a third of the precincts reporting statewide on Nov. 7, McCrory had 55 percent of the vote compared to 43 percent for Dalton, according to unofficial results.
He will replace North Carolina's Democratic Governor Beverly Perdue. The last Republican elected as N.C. Governor was James Grubbs "Jim" Martin, who served from 1985 to 1993.
Catawba President Brien Lewis said this of McCrory, who has served as a member of the Catawba College Board of Trustees since 2005: "Pat makes the entire Catawba family very proud today. He has been a dedicated public servant and a committed friend of the College for a very long time. He is a great example of Catawba's mission statement to prepare people to 'reach their highest potential…with a zeal to enrich human life.' We know Pat, so we know he will be an outstanding Governor."
McCrory stumped for votes during a visit to his alma mater in September. He was accompanied by New Jersey's Republican Governor Chris Christie, and other state Republican candidates and officials. At that time, McCrory spoke about his former Catawba College political science professor, Dr. Sanford Silverburg, whom he said has had a long-lasting influence and impact on his life.
"He's a flaming liberal," McCrory said of Silverburg during the rally. "We've been arguing now for 30 or 40 years. He's coming around because he's at a Pat McCrory for Governor Rally."
