North Carolina Democratic Governor Roy Cooper is reportedly set to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 presidential election.
Cooper, 67, is a staunch supporter of Harris and has served as North Carolina’s 75th governor since 2017.
A native of Nashville, North Carolina, Cooper served as North Carolina’s Attorney General for 16 years from 2001 to 2017 before being elected to the state’s highest elected office.
Before entering politics, Cooper attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was elected president of the university’s Young Democrats, and then earned his doctorate from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1982.
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North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper speaks during a campaign event at Westover High School on July 18, 2024 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. (Alison Joyce/AFP via Getty Images)
While Cooper was in law school, then-North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt appointed him to the State Goals Policy Commission, where he was the commission’s youngest member at the time. Additionally, Hunt, the state’s 69th and 71st governor, appointed Cooper to the Interim Balanced Growth Commission and the North Carolina 2000 Commission.
In 1985, Cooper filed papers to run for the North Carolina House of Representatives in the 72nd Congressional District. He won in the 1986 election, defeating 12-term incumbent Democratic challenger Allen Barbee.
Cooper continued his law studies while in the state legislature. In 1991, after state Senator Jim Ezell was killed in a car accident, Cooper was appointed to serve the remainder of Ezell’s senate term. Six years later, he was elected majority leader of the state senate following the resignation of then-leader Richard Conder.
Cooper was subsequently elected to the North Carolina State Bar Association’s Board of Directors, a position he held until 2002.
Cooper filed papers to run for state attorney general in January 2000 and defeated Republican Dan Boyce in the November 2000 general election. Cooper took office in January 2001 and was re-elected in 2004, 2008 and 2012.
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Vice President Kamala Harris looks on as North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper speaks on March 1, 2024 in Durham, North Carolina. (Peter Zai/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Cooper ran for governor of North Carolina in 2016, defeating Republican incumbent Pat McCrory in the state’s general election, and won re-election as governor in 2020, defeating Republican candidate Dan Forest, who was then the state’s lieutenant governor.
Cooper, who advocates for many liberal policies and proposals, has sought to portray himself as a moderate among his Democratic peers, but that was difficult to do in the context of former President Donald Trump’s victories in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.
Cooper has clashed with the Republican-led state Legislature on multiple occasions during his time as governor, and in October 2023 he sued state Republican lawmakers over a measure that would have stripped the state of its power to select election commissioners.
Governor Cooper has also vetoed numerous bills passed by the North Carolina General Assembly, many of which have been overturned by Republicans.
In recent weeks, many political strategists and insiders have viewed Cooper as a credible choice to be Harris’ running mate in 2024.
Cooper spoke in support of Harris at the Democratic Party office in Raleigh just days after President Biden announced he was stepping down from the presidential race and endorsing Harris for the position.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper speaks at a press conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, on April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
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“Follow me, North Carolinians, this year you’re going to make a difference,” Cooper said at the time.
“She has a lot of people to choose from and I know she’ll make the right choice,” he added. “I just want her to pick the person who has the best chance of winning.”
