North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is being considered as a top contender for Kamala Harris’ vice president on the 2024 Democratic ticket.
Originally from Nash County, Cooper, 67, practiced law for 18 years and then served in the state legislature before serving four terms as attorney general between 2001 and 2017.
“Democrats are likely to see Roy Cooper as a good match for Kamala Harris for multiple reasons. First and foremost, Cooper helps bring North Carolina’s 16 electoral votes into play in a way other candidates do not,” John Locke Foundation senior political analyst Mitch Kokai told Fox News Digital. “He has won six statewide elections since 2000. That’s an impressive accomplishment for a Democrat in a state that has trended right during the same time period.”
By contrast, Kokai said, Democrats have only won a single U.S. Senate contest over the same period in North Carolina.
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“Cooper has been the Democrats’ brightest star in North Carolina in recent years, and so-called ‘Cooper-Trump’ voters helped him win his races for governor at the same time the Republican nominee won in this state during the last two presidential races,” he explained. “Cooper offers a clear demographic contrast to Harris, and he also presents a calm, sober, constrained personality that might help counter some of the criticism Harris has faced about her interactions with interviewers and the public.”
Despite his 16 years as attorney general – winning four AG elections back-to-back – “few people are likely to remember any significant accomplishment that could be attributable directly to Cooper’s work,” Kokai said.
In perhaps his biggest moment as attorney general, Cooper made headlines across the nation when he declared three Duke University lacrosse players innocent in 2007 after an exotic dancer they had hired for a party in 2006 accused them of rape.
“We believe these three individuals are innocent of these charges,” Cooper famously said at the time.
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During his final years as attorney general, Cooper challenged HB 2, a law requiring people to use bathrooms corresponding with their sex at birth, that he called unconstitutional. When he became governor, he repealed the law.
“For over a year now, House Bill 2 has been a dark cloud over our great state. It has stained our reputation. It has discriminated against our people. And it has caused great economic harm to many of our communities,” he said at the time. “Today, we repealed House Bill 2. We begin to end discrimination. We begin to bring back jobs and sporting events. And we begin to repair our reputation. It is an important step, but it cannot be the only step.”
He also supported legislation allowing for same-sex marriage in the state, which has been legal since 2014, in his capacity as AG.
Cooper’s website touts a 30% decrease in crime during his tenure as AG.
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“He cracked down on child predators, worked to increase penalties for drug dealers, and oversaw a sharp (30%) decrease in crime,” his site states. “Roy also prioritized consumer protection, and fought to keep utility rates low, putting predatory lenders out of business and cracking down on telemarketers.”
North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NC SBI) Crime Reporting data shows total statewide offenses decreased more than 24% between 2001, the year he was sworn into the AG’s office, and 2017, the year he became governor.
However, the murder, aggravated assault, rape, and motor-vehicle theft rates per 100 people increased between 2013 and 2022, more recent SBI statistics show, most of which spiked during the 2020-2021 period. North Carolina saw one of its most drastic upticks in homicides between 2020 and 2021, as did many other states and cities. While overall crime has decreased recently, it is still higher than before 2020.
“I cannot say whether the crime rate is 30% lower now than when Roy Cooper became attorney general 24 years ago. If so, that’s much more likely due to factors affecting the nation as a whole than to anything special Cooper did while leading the North Carolina Department of Justice,” Kokai said.
Cooper was effective in staying out of the spotlight during his time in the AG’s office, the senior political analyst said.
“His tenure was so unremarkable that Republicans didn’t bother to field a candidate against him during one of his re-election bids,” he said. “In that respect, his record, style, and accomplishments would be unlikely to overshadow Kamala Harris. Plus, he might help her swing 16 electoral votes that have gone to Republicans in every election since 2012. That might be exactly what the presumptive Democratic nominee is seeking in a running mate.”
Cooper also worked in his authority as AG to combat opioid addiction across the state and hold companies accountable for promoting drugs that lead to addiction.
In his capacity as governor, Cooper did initiate COVID-19 lockdowns, temporarily shuttering certain restaurants and businesses, and passed strict masking mandates. In April, an appeals court ruled that the governor overstepped when he allowed restaurants to reopen a few months after COVID-19 came to the United States while forcing standalone bars to remain closed. The court described Cooper’s orders as “illogical” in the decision, according to The Associated Press.
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“He offered an annual update on crime statistics, and he occasionally promoted efforts to fight scams targeting seniors or other vulnerable groups. But it would surprise me if one in 100 people stopped on a North Carolina street could name anything special Cooper did as attorney general,” Kokai said. “To some extent, that’s good news for Cooper because his tenure did involve some clear problems. The Crime Lab at the State Bureau of Investigation faced a serious scandal that led to a number of prosecutions being thrown out.”
Kokai noted that North Carolina developed “a noticeable backlog of untested rape kits” under Cooper’s time as AG. His Democratic successor, Josh Stein, “made a big deal out of clearing the backlog, never emphasizing the degree to which the problem stemmed from operations during Cooper’s tenure,” the senior political analyst explained.
Republican North Carolina state Sen. Warren Daniel also weighed in on Cooper’s potential nomination as Harris’ VP, stating simply: “I would love to have Mark Robinson as acting Governor of North Carolina while Roy Cooper is out traveling the country in support of a losing presidential ticket.”
