Ever since the Biden-Harris campaign turned into the Harris campaign, current Vice President Kamala Harris has been looking for a running mate of her own. Several names have been popping up throughout the process – including Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, and more.
Another name that has been mentioned frequently is North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper. However, news is out tonight that he has removed himself from contention without much explanation.
He made the announcement official via X/Twitter on Monday evening.
— Roy Cooper (@RoyCooperNC) July 30, 2024
More on the withdrawal, via the New York Times:
Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina, who has been seen as a leading contender to become Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate, has informed her team that he has withdrawn from the vice-presidential sweepstakes, according to two people briefed on the matter.
Mr. Cooper, who previously served as chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, was believed to be among the half-dozen top candidates to join Ms. Harris on the Democratic ticket.
It was not immediately clear why he had taken himself out of consideration. A spokesman for the Harris campaign declined to comment, as did a spokesman for Mr. Cooper.
Mr. Cooper has known Ms. Harris dating to their overlapping days as state attorneys general and also campaigned recently with her. He has twice won governor’s races in North Carolina, a battleground state, even as Donald J. Trump carried the state at the presidential level. Mr. Cooper is prohibited from seeking a third term.
While he has been frequently mentioned since President Joe Biden withdrew from re-election and Harris has taken over the campaign, Cooper’s star has wavered a bit, though seemingly not because of anything he has done. Rather, the stars of Kelly and Walz in particular have been on the rise, and Shapiro has seemingly been a top contender from the jump.
All three men still in the running (as well as Cooper) hail from states that could be considered swing states, though Minnesota is much less a traditional swing state than the others.
Shapiro is favorably looked at because of his role as governor of Pennsylvania, where he remains popular despite having only been elected to the governor’s mansion in 2022. His state, if Trump wins it, makes it much harder for Harris to overcome the former president – though not impossible. But the flip side of that is that Trump not winning Pennsylvania means a much tougher path through swing states that are more blue than red.
Arizona is more red than blue, but a state GOP that has produced few significant wins of late is struggling to maintain a hold. Minnesota, meanwhile, is a blue state that has been polling toward Trump.
It’s a complicated matter for Harris, who is looking for a candidate that can help her appeal to midwestern blue-collar workers, a voting bloc she is not strong with and one that has been drifting toward Trump’s more populist rhetoric. Add to that Trump’s vice presidential pick, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, and Harris has to find a way to secure the Rust Belt – and quickly.
This may be part of the reason why Cooper backed out of contention. While his state offers a similar number of electoral college votes to Pennsylvania, he is not someone who could necessarily help give her Rust Belt voters.
