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North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper speaks at a Biden-Harris campaign event at James B. Dudley High School in Greensboro, North Carolina on July 11.
CNN
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North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Monday that it’s not the right time to enter the national race after the governor withdrew himself from consideration to be Kamala Harris’ running mate, two sources familiar with the discussions told CNN, signaling a new phase in the accelerated search for a candidate.
A decision on Harris’ running mate could come within a week, with Harris aiming to announce it by Aug. 7, according to two people familiar with the matter. Harris plans to hold informal talks with potential candidates, the people said, but it was unclear whether talks have begun.
“I strongly support VP Harris’ campaign for president. I know she will win and I am honored to have been selected for this position. It just hasn’t been the right time for North Carolina or for me to be a national candidate,” Cooper said in a statement posted to his personal account on X. “As I’ve said from the beginning, she has a fantastic field of candidates and we will work hard to ensure she wins.”
Cooper was approached by the Harris campaign to be considered for the audit but declined, a person familiar with the matter told CNN.
The governor, a friend of Ms Harris’s from their days as attorneys general of their respective states, was also the oldest candidate on the field, and some Democrats saw his age, 67, as being at odds with Ms Harris’s push to field a younger, more dynamic candidate, according to sources.
Democrats are also concerned about the elevation of North Carolina’s Republican Lt. Governor Mark Robinson, whose state constitution says the lieutenant governor acts as governor in the absence of the governor.
Other Democrats in the state and Washington, D.C., told CNN that Cooper may instead set his sights on the 2026 Senate race for the seat currently held by Republican Thom Tillis.
Other Democratic vice presidential front-runners, including Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, are also being polled and vetted, according to sources. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg are also being considered as potential running mates.
CNN has reached out to a representative for Cooper. The Harris campaign declined to comment.
03:30 – Source: CNN
CNN reporters analyze the pros and cons of Harris as a running mate
Speaking on a Zoom call Monday night called “White Men Supporting Harris” to drum up support for the vice president, Cooper praised Harris’ record and called her the “strong woman” the country needs.
“Kamala Harris is a strong woman. She’s going to run this country while caring about pocketbooks. … She’s going to work to clean up the environment. She’s going to work to make sure people have access to health care, they have access to a quality education. That’s the kind of person we need,” he said on a conference call.
Cooper did not say he had been ruled out as Harris’ running mate.
Cooper is seen as one of the front-runners for the post, representing a state that is a key battleground in 2024. He was first elected in 2016 by just over 10,000 votes. He was re-elected in 2020 but term limits prevent him from running a third time. He endorsed Harris earlier this month, saying “she has the ability to defeat Donald Trump and lead the country with thought and integrity.”
During his tenure as governor, Cooper has clashed with lawmakers in the Republican-controlled state Legislature over issues such as abortion rights and voting rights.
Cooper had previously denied speculation that he might be on the shortlist to be a running mate if President Joe Biden steps away from his reelection campaign and Harris becomes his running mate.
“I don’t want to play into this new political social game because it’s so important for America to stop Donald Trump,” Cooper told CNN in July.
After Biden announced he was stepping down and endorsing Harris, a flurry of endorsements from state delegations made Harris the Democratic front-runner.
The Democratic National Committee’s rules committee last week adopted the rules the party will use to select its presidential nominee, and voting to formally nominate Harris is expected to begin Aug. 1. The party aims to have its presidential and vice presidential candidates named by Aug. 7.
This story has been updated with additional reports.
CNN’s Diane Gallagher, Edward Isaac Dovere and Ebony Davis contributed to this story.
