He never lost an election. He has known Kamala Harris for years. And he’s a self-proclaimed “diet soda sommelier” with a distaste for Diet Mountain Dew — the Sen. drink. JD Vance went viral for promoting his first speech as Donald Trump’s vice presidential candidate.
“I just think Cooper is the complete package,” said state Senate Democratic Leader Dan Blue, who was also North Carolina’s first and only Black House speaker. “I don’t see any vulnerability — except that being a Southerner and speaking a little slower might be a vulnerability in certain parts of the country.”
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper is not an astronaut or a household name like some others the vice president is considering for his running mate. But many Democrats think that Cooper is at or near the top of Harris’ short list because he would be a strong partner who could win North Carolina’s 16 electoral votes.
“He’s kind of the ultimate team player,” said state Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, the Democratic whip and a former aide to Cooper. “James Carville once said that there are politicians who want to be something and politicians who want to do something. Roy Cooper was someone who wants to do something for the people.”
The governor’s second term is up at the end of this year and term limits prevent him from running again, so Democrats don’t risk losing anything by taking him out of state. And he is not known to carry presidential ambitions for himself, so it would be unlikely to try to overshadow Harris or use the job as a springboard.
“He has a lot of winners,” said Noam Lee, who was executive director of the Democratic Governors Association when Cooper chaired it.
“Mr. November,” as Lee said Cooper was called internally, raised a “truly staggering amount of money” to help the party’s government list exceed expectations in 2022.
Allies describe Cooper, 67, as a disciplined political tactician and skilled executive who has spent years quietly chipping away at opposition in the Republican-dominated state to pass progressive LGBTQ rights legislation. The expansion of Medicaid and climate change.
In North Carolina, Cooper consistently outperformed national Democrats, winning six state elections in a row — including five when Republican presidential candidates also carried the state. He won his first term as governor by toppling the Republican incumbent in 2016, even as Trump cruised to victory the same night.
“Roy Cooper is the most popular politician in North Carolina,” said Gary Pearce, a Democratic strategist based in Raleigh. “North Carolina has always been more of a state that if the Democrats can win, then there’s no path to the White House for Trump.”
After decades in the state Legislature, four terms as attorney general and two as governor, allies say Cooper knows it better than anyone, cultivating a vast bipartisan political network through old-fashioned Joe Biden, with a particular penchant for handwritten notes. .Still, it would be an uphill battle for any Harris-led ticket to carry North Carolina.
Vice presidential candidates have a mixed record of delivering in their home states, as voters tend to focus on the top of the ticket. And as in many states, North Carolina voters have a record of being willing to split their ticket in state races, but not in federal races, which makes it unclear whether Cooper’s coattails will work. even in a presidential race.
Even so, Cooper’s boosters say the gray-haired Southerner would be an ideal complement to Harris, whom Republicans are eager to paint as a San Francisco extremist.
Sunday school teacher
Born in rural Nash County, about 45 miles east of Raleigh, Cooper – who says he is really pronounced more like “cooking” – she attended public schools and picked tobacco on her parents’ farm during the summers. He won a prestigious Morehead Stock Exchange to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he pledged the Chi Psi fraternity and was elected president of the campus Young Democrats. He attended UNC for law school.
A staunch Presbyterian, Cooper served as a deacon and Sunday school teacher in his Raleigh Church. His wife, Kristin, is an attorney and avid birder who has worked in and used the foster care system. first lady to focus on child poverty and related issues. They have three grown daughters, who also graduated from Chapel Hill.
Former assistants describe Cooper as a warm leader who treated staff like family and modeled work-life balance, which helped engender strong loyalty. They are proud to note that two former Cooper cabinet officials have recently been elevated to top jobs in Washington, including Director of the Environmental Protection Agency. Michael S. Regan and Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Mandy Cohen.
The image of the squeaky-clean family man is true, allies say, but even one that has been difficult to penetrate since Cooper rarely shows much spontaneity or personality in public.
“He’s a very disciplined messenger,” said Travis Fain, a veteran North Carolina political reporter who recently left journalism for nonpartisan PR. “There are a lot of people I’ve interviewed over the years where I thought I was in control – Cooper wasn’t one of them. I tried as many ways as I could think of to get away from his talking points, but it became clear that I only had what I wanted to give.”
That reputation for image control is what made Fain and other North Carolina politicians stand out when, in the hot-mic moment while preparing for an interview, Cooper answered a question about his beloved Diet Sun Drop soda with a rare moment of levity.
“I’m like a diet soda sommelier,” Cooper said when asked for an interview in 2022. “So, Mountain Dew is sweeter than Diet Sun Drop. Diet Sun Drop has a little more of a sour taste.” .
It’s not much. Especially in an era of politicians sharing a lot on social media. But Cooper ended up putting “diet soda sommelier” in his social media bio and the North Carolina Democratic Party sold “diet soda sommelier” cozzi.
“He has a human side,” Fain said. “And you should show a little bit more than that (as Harris’ course partner) because you have to move on to the national level.”
It’s ironic, then, that his potential rival, Vance, used his first speech as Trump’s running mate to share. their opinions on diet sodajoking that Democrats should start calling their beloved Diet Mountain Dew “racist.”
“I’ve known her for a long time”
Unlike some others on Harris’ short list, she and Cooper have something of a pre-existing relationship, even if they’re not close.
As attorneys general, they worked together on the national mortgage settlement after the financial crisis of 2008. When Harris came to the Senate and served on the Judiciary Committee, she called Cooper to call the candidates from his state. And Cooper appeared with Harris every time he visited the state, “unlike those who run when times are tough,” said Blue, the Democratic leader of the Senate.
“I’ve known her for a long time,” Cooper said of Harris on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” this week. “She came to Charlotte on Dobbs’ birthday and gave an impassioned speech to a full rally about women’s reproductive freedom. You could tell the excitement in the room.”
Matt Bennett, the executive vice president of the centrist Democratic center Third Way, who has worked on several presidential campaigns, said that personal “chemistry” may be the most important factor in choosing Harris. a real hole to fill, so instead, if I were Harris, I would look for the person I feel most comfortable with,” Bennett said.
Vulnerability
While Cooper is considered unlikely to have a skeleton in his closet, Republicans are likely to revive criticism of his management in 2018. hurricanea pipeline fund and the coronavirus pandemic.
Democrats, however, are more likely to raise concerns about their lieutenant governor, Republican Mark Robinson, who under state law becomes acting governor whenever the governor is out of state. (North Carolina elects both seats separately, not as one ticket).
Robinson, who is running for governor himself this year, is a highly controversial figure who Democrats see as a He denies the Holocaust far-right ideologue. So what some concern that Robinson could take advantage of Cooper’s absence on the campaign trail.
But Gerry Cohen, a North Carolina election law expert who spent 40 years working for the state Legislature’s nonpartisan staff, said there was little Robinson could do that couldn’t be immediately overturned when Cooper returned to the state
“We’ve had governors and lieutenant governors from different parties not infrequently. … I’m not aware of any problem happening,” he said. “The Republicans have a supermajority so Cooper’s veto could be overridden anyway, so I’m not sure what the real difference would be.”
