There were many North Carolinians who voted for McCrory because of his time as mayor in Charlotte.

When was the Charlotte rights extension passed originally? 
He looks like a jerk in that picture. He never lost the fist thing. It appeared during his first year as Governor. I thought, well he'll lose that mess with time. Evidently, not.

...What’s notable about the Tar Heel law is that it passed. Why did it have more success? (click here) 

It isn’t that North Carolina is more conservative than a lot of the other states considering legislation—in fact, although Republicans control the governorship and state legislature, it’s a fairly purple state, and voted for Barack Obama in 2008. The spark for the law passed Wednesday was an ordinance passed in Charlotte, the state’s largest city. The state’s urban centers tend to be fairly liberal.

One obvious difference in North Carolina is speed. Charlotte passed its updated ordinance, banning LGBT discrimination and creating the transgender bathroom accommodation, on February 22. Here in the Old North State, there were almost immediately calls for the legislature to enter a special sessions to block or overturn the the ordinance. But it was unclear whether that would happen. On February 29, Governor Pat McCrory and Senate leader Phil Berger said they thought the legislature should wait to act until April 25, when the regular session began....

I don't think it's passage is all that odd. I know NC has been purple for a couple of elections, but, the state government is blood red. They are horrible. They operate on ideology. It is why they were elected. Religion rules the state house.

There is a reason why he wheels fists all the time. He is fighting mad about the turn the country has taken under a Democratic President. 

"The Fist" illustrates the overt methodology of governing. If the governor looks tough on those lefties, then he is. 

It is kind of surprising McCrory is taking on a city law from Charlotte. I wonder if he still has friends there?