Democrat widens lead for North Carolina governor

RALEIGH, N.C. — Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper’s unofficial advantage in the race for governor has grown to about 6,600 votes over Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, out of nearly 4.7 million cast.

After endless legal battles over how, when and where people can vote, they’re fighting now over whether to count 60,000 provisional ballots and thousands more absentee ballots that have remained sealed since election day.

If Cooper’s margin remains below 10,000 votes, McCrory can call for a statewide recount, and with the possibility of other legal challenges and conceivably even legislative intervention to decide a contested result, few outside Cooper’s campaign are ready to put a date on the naming of the next governor.