Democrat Roy Cooper claims victory in still-undecided North Carolina governor's race

The saga that is the North Carolina gubernatorial race continues, with Democrat Roy Cooper naming a transition team and Republican Gov. Pat McCrory's (R) team saying Cooper is jumping the gun.

Cooper, the state attorney general, leads McCrory by 6,600 votes, but McCrory is questioning ballots cast in more than half of North Carolina's 100 counties, The Charlotte Observer reports. Nearly two weeks after Election Day, Democrats are urging McCrory to bow out gracefully; state Rep. Tricia Cotham (D) told reporters: "I understand it's hard to lose. McCrory needs to be a statesman and do what the voters wanted and concede this race."

McCrory's team is accusing Cooper of "circumventing the electoral process." Spokesman Ricky Diaz said an elections board found that 339 felons voted, adding that "instead of insulting North Carolina voters, we intend to let the process work as it should to ensure that every legal vote is counted properly." Should the margin remain 10,000 or under, an automatic recount will be triggered, and either candidate could then appeal a "contested" election to the General Assembly, controlled by Republicans. The new governor will take office Jan. 1, 2017.

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