Gov. Roy Cooper's job galvanizing crowds for this year's Democratic presidential nominees seems at odds with the reserved demeanor of the longtime North Carolina public official, who doesn't like to pay lip service.
Cooper engaged the crowd in a call-and-response, asking them if they wanted Donald Trump to be re-elected, to which they chanted “No.”
Cooper's measured response Monday morning to a question about whether he would consider being Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate following President Joe Biden's withdrawal from the race was the kind of Cooper North Carolinians are accustomed to hearing.
“I appreciate people talking about me, but I think the focus needs to be on her this week,” Cooper said on MSNBC's Morning Joe. “She needs to focus on making sure she wins the nomination and getting ready to campaign.”
After Biden withdrew on Sunday, Cooper took to TwitterX (formerly Twitter) to thank Biden, calling him “one of the best presidents our country has had,” and endorsed Harris.
Cooper, 67, is serving his second term as governor and cannot run for a third term. Even before Biden announced he was dropping out of the race on Sunday, there was speculation about what role Cooper might play in Biden's second term in the administration.
Cooper's steady rise through the political ranks in North Carolina and his status as a Democratic governor in a battleground state have led commentators to speculate on his possible role as Harris' running mate. Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear have also been mentioned as possible vice presidential contenders to join Harris.
Putting health care and public schools at the forefront
Introducing Biden and Harris at the North Carolina rally gave Cooper the opportunity to tout his Medicaid expansion in North Carolina, the crown jewel of his administration's success. He said at a press conference this month: Half a million residents registered He's taking part in the expanded program. At campaign rallies, Trump has drawn an image of himself snatching a health insurance card out of someone's hand.
Cooper began fighting for Medicaid expansion even before he officially became governor in 2016, defeating Republican Pat McCrory, who had only been in office for one term. Ranking Republicans in the Legislature had pushed back against calls for Medicaid expansion for years. Without approval from the Republican-controlled Legislature, the state could not provide health insurance to more people under the Medicaid expansion, but Cooper has kept health care and Medicaid expansion at the forefront of his agenda.
Republicans are having second thoughts after Biden's 2021 signing of the American Rescue Plan included: Financial incentives for states that have not yet expanded Medicaid Based on the Affordable Care Act.
Republicans included Medicaid expansion in the budget they passed last year. Cooper Without his signature, the budget will become law. That's because the bill included Medicaid expansion, even though it was packed with things he didn't want, like expanding private school vouchers.
Cooper has repeatedly denounced private school vouchers and made increased spending on public education and teacher pay raises a pillar of his education policy, but his tenure as governor has been largely defined by issues like health, health insurance and disputes with Republicans in the legislature over policy priorities.
Tested by the COVID pandemic
The 2020 gubernatorial race revolved largely around his response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Cooper at odds with Republican lawmakers over health-related business closures and public school closures.
Republican Lt. Governor Dan Forest challenged Governor Cooper with a campaign focused on lifting COVID-19 restrictions and reopening public schools. Governor Forest filed a lawsuit against some of Governor Cooper's COVID-19 executive orders, but the lawsuit was dismissed in court. Governor Forest lost the gubernatorial election to Governor Cooper by more than 4 percentage points.
Bar owners have had more success challenging Cooper's coronavirus restrictions. They sued over his decision to keep bars closed but allow restaurants to open at limited capacity several months into the pandemic. A state appeals court ruled last April that Cooper had violated the bar owners' rights.
Nationally, North Carolina's response to the pandemic has been praised by the Biden administration, which has nominated Dr. Mandy Cohen, Cooper's first Health and Human Services secretary, to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A weak office needed a negotiator.
The power of the North Carolina Governor is designed to be weak: He does not have a line-item veto and cannot veto redistricting bills.
Republicans have controlled the Legislature throughout Governor Cooper's tenure, and in years when Republicans did not have supermajorities in the House and Senate to override a gubernatorial veto, Governor Cooper was able to push through negotiations on issues and block bills he opposed.
By persuading Democrats to uphold the veto, Cooper “put himself in the discussion,” said state Senate Democratic Leader Dan Blue, R-Raleigh.
“Cooper had a huge influence on the direction of the state,” Blue said, “softening the Republican Party's hardline stance many times.”
Cooper's supporters point out that he has never lost an election since he was elected to the House of Representatives in 1986, defeating a 12-term Democratic incumbent. Cooper has repeatedly won statewide office while Democratic presidential candidates have often fallen short. The last Democratic presidential candidate to win North Carolina was Barack Obama in 2008.
Cooper grew up on a tobacco farm in Nash County, his mother a teacher and his father a lawyer.
He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on a Morehead Scholarship and earned his law degree from the University of North Carolina.
He is an avid fan of the UNC Tar Heels and Carolina Hurricanes NHL teams.
A 1988 Charlotte Observer article described Cooper as “the star of the legislative basketball team” who kept a low profile during his first term.
“I would like to serve three to five terms in Congress,” the article quoted Cooper as saying, “during which time I could have an impact and accomplish what I want to accomplish.”
“And after 15 years, I think I'll either find another firm or make a living as a lawyer.”
After serving in the state Legislature, Cooper was appointed to the Senate in 1991 and rose to become Senate Majority Leader.
He won the first of four elections for state attorney general in 2000.
He rejected calls to run for governor in 2008 and resisted calls that year to challenge incumbent Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole.
North Carolina Democrats are wondering whether Cooper's career path will lead to the vice presidency.
After voting Sunday to endorse Harris as the state's presidential nominee, North Carolina state party chairman Anderson Clayton reported that North Carolina delegates to the Democratic National Convention “enthusiastically endorse Governor Cooper to be the vice presidential nominee.”
