This state’s residents on Tuesday will go to the polls for a final time and decide whether or not to stick with Gov. Pat McCrory, a Republican, for another four years, or make a change for Democrat Roy Cooper, now the state’s attorney general.

Polls have North Carolina too close to call, so the only surprise would be if the election is not close.

McCrory has in his corner a strong North Carolina economy, which since Republicans took over has outperformed most states in this country, and now boasts an unemployment rate that is lower than the national average. McCrory can point as well to Republicans’ efforts this summer to provide better pay to teachers, but critics have been able to pooh-pooh these efforts and succeed in portraying the governor and GOP legislators as being hostile to education.

McCrory, we believe, would be willing to find a compromise on the Medicaid stalemate that keeps a half million North Carolinians from having that health insurance and has imperiled rural hospitals, but Republicans in the General Assembly have not budged. That will not help the governor when the votes are counted.

Cooper has pledged a different path, saying he would shift the state’s tax burden away from the folks in the middle and on the bottom and make corporations pay more. He has been a vocal critic of House Bill 2, the “bathroom bill” that critics say has become a drag on the economy, costing North Carolina prized entertainment, athletic events as well as new jobs, but his ability as the state’s top executive to undo that legislation would be denied if the Republicans keep their firm grip on the General Assembly, which allows them to override a veto.

Cooper has as baggage his management of the state’s crime lab, which under his direction was found to have withheld or manipulated evidence that led to wrongful convictions.

So any wind that blows voters in one direction or another could determine the outcome, and Hurricane Matthew was much more than a wind.

Even his critics concede that McCrory has been good since Oct. 8, when that hurricane and its floodwaters changed the landscape of much of Eastern North Carolina, including Robeson County and Lumberton. McCrory and his fellow Republicans were wise to rebuild the state’s rainy day fund, which is now close to $2 billion, resisting the urge to spend the money on what others said were more immediate needs.

McCrory has put together a task force that will guide the recovery, releasing details this week that include goals and a timeline. Plans are to bring legislators back to Raleigh soon so that money can be earmarked for immediate needs.

Of more interest locally is that McCrory has been engaged with the challenges this county and Lumberton faced and continue to face. He deserves a lot of credit for providing the city of Lumberton what it needed to get water flowing again, working to resolve what will be a housing shortage for those who can’t return home, and has made multiple visits to the county, which keeps our tragedy on the minds of others who can help.

More than 70 percent of Robeson County voters are registered Democrats, but don’ be surprised if McCrory’s work on our behalf pays off when the ballots are cast. As close as this election is expected to be, Robeson and other counties hit hard by Matthew might provide the tailwind that saves McCrory his job.