North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has chosen not to run as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, in part out of concern that his Republican lieutenant governor would try to seize the race if he left the state to run as part of the Democratic ticket. Control.
Cooper confirmed in a statement Monday night that he would not be Harris’ vice presidential nominee and said he was “honored” to be considered, but “this is not the right time for North Carolina and for me nationally.” Coupon. The 67-year-old governor dropped out of the race before Harris’ review process began and never submitted the necessary materials, according to two people familiar with the matter. All three spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive search process.
Harris’ search is ongoing, and her team of attorneys and political aides are still reviewing information to narrow the list of potential candidates.
Harris’ team was initially said to be considering about a dozen potential contenders, but the field has been narrowed and now Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly are seen as front-runners, according to people familiar with the matter. one.
Cooper, the former chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, has been close to Harris since he became state attorney general. His potential pick is seen as a possible asset in shifting North Carolina, the Democratic Party’s only significant opportunity for expansion on the 2020 map, into Harris’ hands.
Under the state constitution, North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the Republican nominee to succeed the term-limited Cooper, becomes acting governor and can take over Democratic power when he is out of state.
Cooper expressed concerns about what Robinson might do if he were to travel extensively out of the state for the campaign, according to two people familiar with the matter. Cooper’s legal team and some outside experts don’t believe Robinson will actually assume the powers of being governor, such as issuing executive orders. But a person familiar with the matter said the governor is very concerned that Robinson will try to take action that could trigger lawsuits and distract from North Carolina, one of the most politically critical states in the nation for the president’s term and the outcome of the election.
Robinson is an ardent social conservative who has called abortion “child sacrifice.” From the pulpits of churches, Robinson declared that men were the legitimate leaders of church and society. He once mused that the leaders of America’s original birth control movement were “witches, they were all witches.” He has used words such as “filth” and “maggots” to discuss the LGBTQ community.
Cooper appeared with Harris at campaign events in Greensboro and Fayetteville in the weeks before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race. He dodged questions about the review process.
“I trust her to make the right decision,” he recently told reporters in North Carolina.
this New York Times First reported that Cooper had withdrawn from the process, but did not elaborate on the timing or reasons for his decision. The Harris campaign declined to comment.
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Associated Press writer Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed.
