WASHINGTON — North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper has chosen not to run for Search for running mate for Vice President Kamala Harristwo insiders said Monday, partly because of concerns that his Republican lieutenant governor could take over if he travels out of state if elected.
Cooper, 67, withdrew before Harris formally began requesting screening materials from potential vice presidents, the sources said. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive search process. Harris’ search is ongoing, and her teams of lawyers and political aides are still reviewing information on a narrowing list of potential candidates.
Harris’ team was initially said to be looking at a dozen potential candidates, but the field has narrowed and now Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona are seen as front-runners, according to the people.
Cooper said in a statement: “This simply wasn’t the right time for North Carolina and for me to potentially be on a national ticket.” He said Harris “has an excellent list of people to choose from, and we will all work to make sure she wins.”
Cooper, the former chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, has been close to Harris since they both served as state attorneys general. His potential selection was seen as a potential trump card to help deliver North Carolina — the Democrats’ only significant chance to expand their 2020 map — to Harris.
Under the state constitution, North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who was nominated by the GOP to replace the term-limited Cooper, becomes acting governor and can contract the Democrat’s powers when traveling outside the state.
According to one of the people, Cooper has expressed concerns about what Robinson might do if he were to leave a large part of the state to campaign.
Robinson is an ardent social conservative who once called abortion “child sacrifice.” In various church pulpits, Robinson has promoted men as the rightful leaders in the church and society. He once mused that leaders of the original birth control movement in the United States “were witches, every one of them.” He has referred to LGBTQ people as “filth” and “maggots.”
In the weeks before President Joe Biden withdrew from the race, Cooper appeared with Harris at campaign events in Greensboro and Fayetteville. He has dodged questions about the screening process.
“I trust her to make the right decision,” he recently told reporters in North Carolina.
The New York Times first reported that Cooper had withdrawn from the process, but did not provide details about the timing of his decision or his reasoning. Harris’ campaign declined to comment.
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AP journalist Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed.