Associated Press

RALEIGH — North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory has conceded the governor’s race, clearing the way for Democrat Roy Cooper to be declared the winner.

The concession nearly four weeks after Election Day comes after appeals dried up and post-election counts saw Cooper’s narrow lead increasing.

McCrory announced Monday in a video posted on YouTube that he is giving up four years after he won the office by a comfortable margin. This time around McCrory was weighed down by a law he signed limiting LGBT rights and was unable to generate the same voter support that lifted Republicans Donald Trump and Richard Burr to victory in the state.

Cooper’s win marks an important consolation prize for national Democrats after a disappointing election. Cooper is the outgoing attorney general.

Cooper responded to McCrory’s concession by praising the Republican for his service to the state.

Cooper said in a Facebook post Monday that he’s honored to receive the support of so many in this fall’s election and believes “there is more that unites us than divides us” despite the contentious election season.

McCrory’s defeat marks the first time a sitting North Carolina governor has lost a re-election bid.