Could Gov. Roy Cooper be the next vice president?

Cooper may not be as well known as some of the other names on Kamala Harris’ list of choices, but he makes a lot of sense. To start: He is more popular in North Carolina than Donald Trump. 

Vice President Kamala Harris has visited North Carolina seven times this year alone, and each time, Gov. Roy Cooper has been there to fire up the crowd ahead of her speech. 

Could these moments have been a sneak preview before a national tour?

Cooper, a Democrat who has never lost an election in competitive North Carolina, is reported to be on a very short list of Harris’ potential running mates, an important gig in the most important of elections. 

Cooper makes a lot of sense both politically and policy wise, even if he is not as well known nationally as some of the other high-profile names on the list like Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

To start: Cooper is more popular in North Carolina than Donald Trump — at least among those who voted in 2020. While Trump beat Biden by a little in the state in that election, Cooper beat his Republican opponent by a lot and got nearly 80,000 more votes than Trump.

That is hardly a guarantee of anything in November, but Democrats have long been “all-in” on winning North Carolina, and in an election that could tip on the margins, Cooper could make the difference here for Democrats. 

If Trump loses North Carolina, he’ll have very few paths to winning nationwide. 

“North Carolina is the state that can decide the president of the United States,” Congressman Wiley Nickel told Cardinal & Pine on Sunday after President Joe Biden’s announcement that he would not seek re-election.

“When we win North Carolina, it’s going to mean Donald Trump will not be anywhere near the Oval Office again.”

Shared backgrounds and priorities

Cooper and Harris were both attorneys general for their states and have worked together closely during the Biden-Harris administration to secure billions in federal infrastructure grants to repair North Carolina’s roads and bridges, replace lead water pipes, and to put the state on track to expanding high-speed internet across all 100 counties. 

Additionally, they have been mighty complimentary of each other in her appearances here.

When Harris took the stage in Greensboro this month soon after Cooper’s warm up speech, she praised his energy.

“I want to acknowledge my friend, Gov. Roy Cooper,” she said. 

“When he came backstage, I said ‘Roy, you tore it up.’”

Here’s a look at what Cooper could bring to the table and what a Harris-Cooper administration might look like.

Broadband and Medicaid expansion

The Biden-Harris administration helped Cooper deliver on several key promises he made during his 2016 gubernatorial campaign, including closing the digital divide and expanding Medicaid access across the state’s rural communities.

Over the last three-and-a-half years, Congress has passed several pieces of legislation backed by the federal government that poured billions of dollars into the state’s aging infrastructure.

Cooper also has a record of reaching across the aisle, when compromise is possible, to deliver results for North Carolinians. 

Through federal grants and bipartisan state funding, North Carolina is now on track to bring high speed internet to each of its 100 counties, making a huge difference in the day-to-day lives of residents and giving a potential Harris-Cooper administration a clear roadmap of delivering at the state and national level.

Cooper also worked with some Republicans last year to finally break though far-right resistance to expanding Medicaid. That effort was aided by the Biden administration’s decision to offer a $1.7 billion signing bonus to states to expand the health insurance program, which helped Cooper get one of his chief priorities across the finish line.

Cooper is now able to say that he helped evade far-right obstacles to an idea that has now helped more than 500,000 low-income North Carolinians afford life-saving care and medication.

Cooper has also been strong on what will surely be among the chief issues in the election: Reproductive rights. 

When the Republican-controlled General Assembly passed its 12-week abortion ban over Cooper’s veto last year, he frequently criticized the bill. He has also continued to  voice support for abortion rights since then.  

A widely popular figure in NC

When Trump beat Hillary Clinton handily in 2016 in North Carolina, Cooper narrowly defeated Gov. Pat McCrory, who’d brought national scorn to the state by backing the “bathroom bill,” H.R. 2.

Cooper’s victory yet again cemented the state’s history of complicated politics. 

In 2020, however, Trump just squeaked by Biden in the state, by less than 1.5 percentage points, while Cooper beat Republican Dan Forrest by 4.5 percentage points. 

Trump got 2,758,775 votes. Copper got ​​2,834,790.

That means Cooper has support from some Trump supporters, as well as Democrats.

When the North Carolina Democratic delegation voted unanimously this week to back Harris to replace Biden at the top of the ticket, they also put their support behind Cooper as her potential partner. 

As can be expected at this stage of the process, Cooper has so far brushed aside questions about joining the ticket.

“I appreciate people talking about me, but I think the focus right now needs to be on [Harris] this week,” Cooper told MSNBC on Monday.

On Tuesday, he told CNN that he wants her to “get the best person she can get as Vice President.”

“That being said, I respect her process and I’m not going to comment any further than that.”

‘You have been extraordinary’

In Harris’ appearance in Greensboro, which took place before Biden’s announcement, she and Cooper showed the bond that could soon become an official partnership.

“We have been working together for years,” Harris said.

“Roy, I thank you for the partnership you have given to President Biden and me.”

She added: “You have been extraordinary.”