(NewsNation) — After being considered one of the top names to potentially join Vice President Kamala Harris on the 2024 campaign trail as her running mate, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has removed himself from consideration.
Cooper, 67, backed out due to concerns that his Republican lieutenant governor would assume control when he travels out of state if he were selected, two people familiar with the matter told AP. Cooper, according to one of the people, has expressed concern about what Robinson might do if he were to leave the state extensively for campaign travel.
The governor withdrew before Harris formally began soliciting vetting material from potential vice presidents, according to the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive search process.
Harris’ search is ongoing and her teams of lawyers and political aides are still reviewing information on a narrowing list of potential candidates.
Cooper was elected governor in 2016 and 2020, both years where the state voted for former President Donald Trump. He is term-limited and ineligible to run for governor again.
Roy Cooper’s political history
Cooper was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1986 and then appointed a member of the North Carolina Senate from 1991 to 2001.
He was elected the state’s attorney general in 2000 and reelected in 2004, 2008 and 2012, serving nearly 16 years.
Cooper was elected governor in 2016 in a close race with incumbent Republican Pat McCrory. Most of his time as governor has been spent playing defense against a Republican-controlled state General Assembly.
Roy Cooper’s political views
As governor of North Carolina, Cooper has prioritized funding schools, increasing health care coverage and expanding infrastructure. Here’s where he stands on the issues:
- Says that we don’t need more tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy
- Previously vetoed versions of a bill that ordered North Carolina sheriffs to comply with federal immigration requests
- Has pledged to protect abortion rights in North Carolina
- Vetoed bills aimed at banning gender-affirming health care for minors, restricting transgender participation in school sports and limiting classroom instruction about gender identity and sexuality
- Launched the state’s first Opioid Action Plan
Roy Cooper’s relationship with Biden, Harris
Following Biden’s announcement he’d be leaving the race, Cooper praised him for stepping aside and endorsed Harris as the Democratic Party’s nominee.
Cooper and Harris both served as attorney general of their respective states from 2011 to 2017, when Cooper was elected governor and Harris was elected to the U.S. Senate, and the two got to know each other.
Roy Cooper’s controversies
Cooper has spent much of his time as governor fighting a Republican supermajority. In his first two years, he vetoed 28 bills, and Republicans overrode 23 of them. In 2023, they overrode all 19 of his vetoes, and so far in 2024, he has vetoed five bills.
An appeals court ruled in April that Cooper’s orders during COVID-19 to keep bars closed when restaurants were open violated the state constitution.
Roy Cooper’s personal life
Cooper grew up in Nash County, North Carolina, and later earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
He married his wife, Kristin, a lawyer from Oklahoma City, in 1992, and all three of their daughters also attended the University of North Carolina.
NewsNation’s Devan Markham contributed to this report.