Republicans tried virtually everything to steal the election in North Carolina.

They used Kris Kobach's Interstate Crosscheck system to throw hundreds of thousands of people off the voter rolls.

They passed the harshest voter suppression ID law in the nation.

They closed polling places.

They cut early voting.

They banned same-day registration.

Name something you can do to try to rig an election - and North Carolina Republicans tried it.

Unfortunately for them - they weren't entirely successful.

Even though Republican voter suppression efforts in North Carolina were probably enough to hand the Tar Heel State to Donald Trump and keep Richard Burr in his senate seat, they weren't enough to save the campaign of Governor Pat McCrory.

According to the latest numbers, McCrory trails North Carolina's Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper by around 6,500 votes.

In other words - the election is over.

Cooper won.

Governor McCrory - however - is STILL refusing to concede - and has now requested an official recount of the results.

Theoretically - of course - this is fine.

North Carolina law gives candidates the right to ask for a recount when the margin of victory is below 10,000 votes - as it is right now.

But McCrory isn't just asking for a recount - he's up to something more sinister.

Over the past two weeks, the Governor's team has filed complaints in more than 50 counties alleging widespread voter fraud and challenging the results of the election.

These allegations, of course, are totally bogus - something at least 4 Republican-controlled election boards confirmed when they rejected McRory's challenge - but that's not really the point.

This isn't about truth - it's about stealing an election.

As Mark Joseph Stern points out over at Slate -

"[McCrory's] real goal appears to be to delegitimize the results to such an extent that the state legislature—which holds a Republican supermajority—can step in and select him as the winner."

This sounds crazy - but it's totally possible.

Under North Carolina law, any "contested" election is reviewable by the state's General Assembly, which then has the power to pick the winner.

Its decision is final and can't be challenged in court.

So, would Governor McCrory and his Republican pals really try to overturn the results of an election they clearly lost?

Of course they would.

They've already tried to rig the election with voter suppression ID laws - cuts to early voting - and Interstate Crosscheck.

Staging a legislative coup is just the logical next step.