North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has dropped his vice presidential bid to be Kamala Harris’ running mate amid rumors that he plans to run for the Senate in 2026.
Cooper confirmed in a statement Monday night that he would not be a candidate to be Harris’ vice president, saying he was “honored” to be considered but “this simply was not the right time for North Carolina and for me to potentially be on a national ticket.”
The governor, 67, dropped out of the race long before Harris’ vetting process began and never submitted the necessary materials, according to two of the people.
Cooper, a former chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, has been close to Harris since they were both state attorneys general.
Her possible selection was seen as a potential asset to flip North Carolina — Democrats’ only significant chance to expand their 2020 map — into Harris’s hands.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has dropped his vice presidential bid to be Kamala Harris’ running mate amid rumors that he plans to run for Senate in 2026
A source close to Cooper has said the governor is specifically targeting the North Carolina Senate seat up for election in 2026, NBC News reports.
Thom Tills, a Republican, has won two consecutive terms, but both times by less than two points.
Under the state constitution, North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who is the Republican Party’s nominee to replace Cooper, who is term-limited, becomes acting governor and can assume the powers of the Democrat when traveling out of state.
According to two of the people, Cooper has expressed concern about what Robinson might do if he left the state for extended periods of time to travel on the campaign trail.
The governor’s legal team, as well as some outside experts, do not believe Robinson will actually assume the powers that come with being governor, such as issuing executive orders.
But the governor was concerned enough, said one of the people familiar with the matter, that Robinson sought to take steps that could spark litigation and create distractions in North Carolina, one of the most critical political states nationally for both the presidency and his gubernatorial race.
Robinson is an ardent social conservative who once called abortion “child sacrifice.” In various church pulpits, Robinson He has affirmed that men are the legitimate leaders in the church and society.
She once mused that the leaders of the original birth control movement in the US were “witches, all of them.”
The governor (pictured right), 67, dropped out of the race long before Harris’ vetting process began and never submitted the necessary materials, according to two of the people.
Under the state constitution, North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson becomes acting governor and can assume his powers when traveling out of state. Cooper has expressed concern about what Robinson might do if he were to leave the state for extended periods of time on campaign trips.
Robinson has also referred to LGBTQ people with words like “filth” and “worms.”
In the weeks before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, Cooper appeared with Harris at campaign events in Greensboro and Fayetteville. He had sidestepped questions about the vetting process.
“I’m confident she’ll make the right decision,” he recently told reporters in North Carolina.
The New York Times was the first to report that Cooper had withdrawn from the race, but did not detail the timing of his decision or his reasons. Harris’ campaign declined to comment.
Harris’ search continues, with her team of lawyers and political aides still sifting through information on a shrinking list of potential candidates.
The vice president’s team was initially said to be considering about a dozen potential contenders, but the field has narrowed and now Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly are seen among the front-runners, according to insiders.
A ABC News/Ipsos Poll A report released Sunday found that Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona has the highest approval rating among the contenders.
The same poll puts the vice president’s popularity at 43 percent, up eight points from last weekend’s ABC News/Ipsos poll that showed Donald Trump underwater.
Harris’ search continues, with her team of lawyers and political aides still sifting through information on a shrinking list of potential candidates.
A source close to Cooper has said the governor is specifically targeting the North Carolina Senate seat up for election in 2026.
Kelly, a former astronaut and husband of former congresswoman and gun control advocate Gabrielle Giffords, is viewed positively by 22 percent of respondents and negatively by just 12 percent.
While most have yet to meet Kelly or have any opinion of the border-state Democrat, he remains more beloved than some of his potential vice presidential rivals.
According to Kevin Madden, a Republican strategist and former spokesman for Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, Kelly is seen as a potential concern for Republicans.
Republican strategist Matt Wolking believes Shapiro and Kelly are the most formidable candidates in the vice presidential race, but noted that choosing Kelly would open up a Senate seat in the swing state of Arizona if Democrats win the election.
Harris is likely to face Trump in November, as no other Democrats are currently being considered to challenge the vice president for the post just three weeks before the Democratic National Convention.
According to the poll, 52 percent of respondents believe Harris should be the nominee, and 86 percent of Democrats want to see her at the top of their ticket.
A separate poll also released Sunday by YouGov/Times of London found that 30 percent of voters believe Biden should step down now and hand over the remainder of his term to Harris.
It also found that a staggering number of American voters — 92 percent — think Harris was at least partially involved in covering up the extent of President Biden’s mental decline.
Harris is likely to face Trump in November, as no other Democrats are currently being considered to challenge the vice president for the post just three weeks before the Democratic National Convention.
Trump chose Ohio Senator JD Vance (pictured left), 39, as his running mate
The poll of 1,170 voters conducted July 22-23 asked whether they believed there was an effort to shield Biden’s mental health from the public and who was responsible for the cover-up.
54 percent of respondents said there was a cover-up and 30 percent said they did not believe it. 16 percent were not sure.
The shift in the 2024 election has left many with questions about whether there was a plot to keep Biden’s cognitive health secret and who conspired to keep his declining health a secret.