In 2010, Public Policy Poll ranked North Carolina as one of the top 10 most favorable states. But after a year and a half of Gov. Pat McCrory’s governorship, and the publication of several unfavorable columns in nationally recognized newspapers, North Carolina’s favorability has decreased. Sadly, we can’t say we’re surprised.

PPP, a left-leaning polling firm based in Raleigh, took a sample of 803 voters from all 50 states and asked them to rate their favorability of each state. In the past two years, North Carolina’s favorability declined from 40 percent to 30 percent while voters who found the state unfavorable more than doubled, from 11 percent to 23 percent. 

The PPP said this can be attributed to three things: The unpopularity of the Republican-controlled legislature, the decline in McCrory’s approval ratings and the weakness of the incumbent Republican state senators. 

It is also likely that the attention North Carolina received from national publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post influenced the opinions of other states’ residents. In July, The New York Times published an editorial titled “The Decline of North Carolina.” In it, the editorial board said the North Carolina government has become “a demolition derby, tearing down years of progress in public education, tax policy, racial equality in the courtroom and access to the ballot.” 

North Carolina spends less on education now than it did in 2007, despite its rapid population growth.  In fact, it ranks 46th in the nation in per-capita education dollars. 

Most recently in tax-related legislation, McCrory signed House Bill 998. The bill will increase the tax on food while decreasing personal and corporate income tax. By taxing food, a necessity, in lieu of decreasing income taxes, the state legislature has shown that wealthy people are its priority. 

And the Justice Department plans to sue North Carolina over its voter ID law, according to ABC News. The law has been accused of suppressing voter rights and being discriminatory. 

North Carolina’s reputation is not just important for our own pride. As Anne Fristoe, president of the N.C. State College Democrats, suggested, the state’s poor reputation may push businesses away. As these statistics demonstrate, North Carolina is certainly in need of change. Fortunately, the PPP survey shows that many North Carolinians feel this way—McCrory’s approval ratings have suffered a swift decline even in districts that he won overwhelmingly in 2012. 

“Based on our polling, we find two districts where Democrats have a clear advantage for next year and another six that can be classified as tossups based on what we’re seeing right now,” PPP said in its official report regarding this poll. 

In only a few years, the Republicans of the North Carolina state legislature have helped our state to fit in better with the rest of the ignorant South by passing laws that demonstrate intolerance, little value for education and high value for wealth.