North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper is considered a leading contender to be 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ running mate.
Cooper, 67, a Nash County native, practiced law for 18 years and then served as a state representative before serving four terms as attorney general from 2001 to 2017.
“Democrats will likely view Roy Cooper as their pick against Kamala Harris for multiple reasons. First, Cooper could help leverage North Carolina’s 16 electoral votes in a way that other candidates cannot,” Mitch Kokai, senior political analyst at the John Locke Foundation, told Fox News Digital. “He’s won six statewide elections since 2000, which is an impressive feat for a Democrat in a state that has shifted to the right over that same period.”
By contrast, Democrats have only won one Senate election in North Carolina during that same period, Kocaj said.
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Cooper, 67, a Nash County native, practiced law for 18 years and then served as a state representative before serving four terms as attorney general from 2001 to 2017. (Alison Joyce/Getty Images)
“Cooper has been the Democratic Party’s brightest star in North Carolina in recent years, and the so-called ‘Cooper-Trump’ supporters helped him win the gubernatorial election at the same time that Republican candidates won the last two presidential elections in the state,” he explained. “Cooper is a clear demographic contrast to Harris, and he also has a calm, collected personality that could help counter some of the criticism Harris has received in interviews and in her interactions with the public.”
Cooper served as attorney general for 16 years and was elected attorney general four times in a row, but “few people may remember the significant accomplishments that were a direct result of his work,” Kokai said.
Cooper’s biggest achievement as attorney general was the 2007 acquittal of three Duke University lacrosse players after an exotic dancer they’d hired for a party accused them of rape in 2006 — a comment that brought him national headlines.
“We believe all three are innocent of these charges,” Cooper said. This was a famous phrase at the time.
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Gov. Roy Cooper addresses a crowd before President Biden during a visit to semiconductor manufacturer WolfSpeed on March 28, 2023, in Durham, North Carolina. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)
In his final years as attorney general, Cooper challenged HB2, a law that required people to use the bathroom corresponding to their birth sex, as unconstitutional, and repealed it after he became governor.
“For more than a year, House Bill 2 has cast a dark shadow over our great state. It has tarnished our reputation, discriminated against our people, and caused great economic harm to many of our communities,” he said at the time. “Today, we repeal House Bill 2. We begin to end discrimination. We begin to bring back jobs and sporting events. And we begin to repair our reputation. This is an important step, but it is not the only step.”
In his capacity as attorney general, he also sponsored a bill to recognize same-sex marriage in the state, which has been legal since 2014.
Cooper’s website touts a 30 percent decrease in crime during his time as attorney general.
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Cooper’s website touts a 30 percent decrease in crime during his time as attorney general. (Julia Nickinson/Bloomberg)
“He cracked down on child molesters, worked to increase penalties for drug traffickers, and oversaw a sharp (30%) decline in crime,” his site states. “Roy also prioritized consumer protection, fighting to keep utility rates low, put predatory lenders out of business, and cracked down on telemarketers.”
North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NC SBI) Crime Reports The data shows Statewide crime fell by more than 24% between 2001, when he became attorney general, and 2017, when he became governor.
However, the incidence rates per 100 people for homicide, aggravated assault, rape and motor vehicle theft increased between 2013 and 2022. More recent SBI statistics showmost of which surged from 2020 to 2021. North Carolina, like many other states and cities, saw one of the most dramatic increases in homicides from 2020 to 2021. While overall crime has declined recently, it is still at high levels compared to pre-2020.
“We don’t know whether crime rates are 30 percent lower today than they were 24 years ago when Roy Cooper was attorney general, but if they are, it’s far more likely to be due to factors affecting the country as a whole than anything special Cooper did while leading the North Carolina Department of Justice,” Kokai said.
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Senior political analysts said Cooper had done a good job of staying out of the spotlight during his time as attorney general. (Grant Halverson)
Senior political analysts said Cooper had done a good job of staying out of the spotlight during his time as attorney general.
“His tenure was so low-profile that Republicans were reluctant to field a candidate to run against him if he were to run for reelection,” he said. “In that regard, his record, style and track record are unlikely to overwhelm Kamala Harris. Moreover, he might help Harris secure the 16 electoral votes that have gone to Republicans in every election since 2012. That might be exactly what the Democratic frontrunners are looking for in a running mate.”
Cooper has used his authority as Attorney General to combat opioid addiction across the state and hold companies that promote addictive drugs accountable.
As governor, Cooper implemented COVID-19 lockdowns, temporarily closed some restaurants and businesses, and passed strict mask mandates. In April, an appeals court ruled that the governor exceeded his authority when he forced independently owned bars to close while allowing restaurants to reopen months after the coronavirus arrived in the U.S. The court said in its decision that Cooper’s orders were “illogical.” The Associated Press.
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In his capacity as governor, Cooper has implemented COVID-19 lockdowns, temporarily closed certain restaurants and businesses and passed strict mask mandates. (Grant Baldwin/Bloomberg)
“He provided annual updates on crime statistics and occasionally touted his efforts to combat scams targeting the elderly and other vulnerable members of society, but I’d be surprised if one person out of 100 people stopped on the streets of North Carolina could name something special that Cooper did as attorney general,” Kokai said. “In a way, that’s good news for Cooper, because there were clearly some issues during his tenure. The State Bureau of Investigation’s crime lab faced serious scandals and numerous charges were dismissed.”
Kokai noted that North Carolina “had a significant backlog of untested rape kits” during Cooper’s tenure as Attorney General. His successor, Democrat Josh Stein, “focused on clearing the backlog but never emphasized the extent to which the problem stemmed from investigative work during Cooper’s tenure,” the senior political analyst explained.
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Republican Senator Warren Daniel of North Carolina also weighed in on Cooper’s possible selection as Harris’ running mate, stating succinctly: “I would like to have Mark Robinson as acting governor of North Carolina while Roy Cooper travels the country supporting the losing candidate for president.”
