CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Pat McCrory is running for U.S. Senate but he's making it clear, he wants to avoid the drama that surrounds Washington D.C. politics.
"I'm talking about issues," McCrory said on this week's WCNC FlashPoint.
The former Charlotte mayor and North Carolina governor weighed in on the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack and the subsequent panic-buying that followed in cities like Charlotte.
"The Colonial Pipeline infrastructure has been at risk for a long time," McCrory said.
McCrory was mayor of Charlotte in 2008 when the city saw its last big gas supply issue. At the time, a hurricane had stopped the output from oil refineries in the Gulf of Mexico.
McCrory also spoke about enhanced federal unemployment benefits and immigration during his interview. He said he'd prefer to focus on the issues and not the in-fighting between Republicans.
"Those are the issues I'm interested in, not the internal squabbles that are meaningless when it comes to policy issues this nation has to deal with," he said.
This week, Republicans ousted Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., from party leadership for her criticism of former President Donald Trump and his role in the January 6 riot. On Friday, they voted to replace Cheney with ardent Trump supporter Rep. Elise Stefanik. The move comes as Republicans decide what role the former president will play in the party moving forward.
McCrory likens the growing pains to what Democrats went through after Hillary Clinton's 2016 loss.
"It takes a year to get through those internal struggles," he said. "There's one group that will unite us, and that's Biden, Harris, Schumer, and Pelosi."
When asked whether the GOP is a big tent party, McCrory responded, "oh, absolutely."
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Flashpoint is a weekly in-depth look at politics in Charlotte, North Carolina, South Carolina, and beyond with host Ben Thompson. Listen to the podcast weekly.
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