COVID-19 reshapes race for NC governor between Cooper and Forest

The coronavirus has reshaped the election for North Carolina governor between Roy Cooper and Dan Forest.

When COVID-19 hit North Carolina in March, it was suddenly up to Cooper to decide where North Carolinians could work, play, eat and shop. Millions of parents, students and teachers now await his announcement of a plan for schools.

“Everything is defined by the coronavirus pandemic and how the nation has responded to that, and the state has responded to that,” said Jarvis Hall, a political science professor at N.C. Central University in Durham.

“It has allowed Gov. Cooper to look very gubernatorial and as a leader — not that he didn’t before, but to exercise his power to ... keep the people of North Carolina safe,” Hall said in a phone interview Thursday with The News & Observer.

“Of course from a campaign perspective, this has changed everything,” he said. “North Carolina is a swing state of course, and this may turn out to be the premiere race for governor actually, which would be unusual for North Carolina.”

North Carolina voters will decide in four months whether to re-elect Cooper, a Democrat, or replace him with Forest, a Republican. Cooper is running for his second, and final, term as governor, as the state has term limits. Forest is finishing up his second term as lieutenant governor, a position that can, but does not always lead to the Executive Mansion.

Forest entered the summer trailing in most polls. The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan newsletter that analyzes elections, deems the North Carolina governor’s race as “lean Democrat.”

After the pandemic began, campaign events were canceled and replaced with virtual meetings and more donation emails, though Forest has returned to in-person campaign events this month.

In 2016, Cooper defeated incumbent Republican Gov. Pat McCrory by about one percentage point. State auditor, attorney general, insurance commissioner and superintendent of public instruction were also squeakers, with winners from both parties. The majority of North Carolina voters also chose President Donald Trump.

North Carolina’s 7 million registered voters are, as of July, 2.5 million Democrat, nearly 2.1 million Republican and 2.3 million unaffiliated.

COVID-19 response differences

While Cooper’s handling of the COVID-19 response received bipartisan support the first few months, Republicans have criticized him for being slower than other states to lift restrictions.

North Carolina is still in what Cooper calls Phase Two of reopening, which Cooper extended to July 17. He has defended the state’s approach and noted that other states have had to reverse course and close businesses again. Although North Carolina isn’t a “surging hot spot” like some states, it could become one, he said Thursday.

Statewide Republican leaders have griped about not being in the loop on the governor’s planned executive orders, many finding out when the rest of the public does, too. And Forest filed a lawsuit against Cooper over the orders.

The Republican National Convention planned for August moved from Charlotte to Jacksonville, Florida, after Trump demanded full arena capacity that Cooper wouldn’t promise earlier this summer. Now the Florida convention could also be restricted because of coronavirus spikes there, the Miami Herald reported this week.

As an unprecedented number of people have filed unemployment claims, with many frustrated by weeks of waiting for their benefits, Cooper replaced the head of the state unemployment office.

Cooper’s spotlight during the crisis has put him in front of cameras for news conferences at least once a week, often more frequently, since March. Reporters dial-in remotely to the news conferences, which last about 30-40 minutes.

Forest has shown support for Reopen NC protesters, though he has not attended their protests. He has met with them, though, according to his campaign.

Forest recently said that masks are not effective, which fact checks have determined is not true. Supporters can buy Forest face masks in his campaign store.

During Council of State meetings, Forest has talked about the impact of restrictions on small businesses.

Ads and endorsements

The lieutenant governor serves on the state Board of Education, and Forest has criticized the board’s reopening plan for not having a goal, The News & Observer reported. He has missed multiple education board meetings this year.

Another role of the lieutenant governor is to preside over the Senate, but this year that has fallen to Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger for most sessions.

Asked by the Associated Press why he hasn’t been presiding, Forest said he has been out across the state talking to people and hearing their stories.

Cooper’s campaign has criticized Forest as extreme, highlighting comments he made about multiculturalism.

“And yet no other nation, my friends, has ever survived the diversity and multiculturalism that America faces today, because of a lack of assimilation, because of this division, and because of this identity politics,” Forest said in a 2019 speech at a church.

Forest told The News & Observer in January that his words have been taken out of context and twisted.

“I own the things I say, we all own the things we say ... I would never say anything intentionally insensitive,” Forest said then.

Trump endorsed Forest last week, at first tagging the wrong Forest in a tweet, and after blaming Cooper for the RNC relocation.

California senator and former presidential candidate Kamala Harris endorsed Cooper this week.

Forest’s latest campaign ad promotes him as a business leader and a new choice for governor during the state’s crisis.

Hall, the NCCU professor, said that one challenge a candidate who’s trying to unseat the incumbent faces is explaining “why me, as opposed to him or her.”

“[Forest] had to distinguish himself from the governor, and it appeared on a national scale the Republican Party, led by Donald Trump, was a party of reopening, of liberating the states [from coronavirus restrictions],” Hall said.

Hall said that if Forest is going to win, he needs the economy to pick back up, which is another reason to push for reopening.

Earlier this week, Cooper’s campaign announced he has raised $5.5 million in the second quarter and now has nearly $14 million cash on hand. The latest campaign finance reports are due Friday.

Forest recently announced that he has accepted invitations to debate Cooper on Spectrum News and CBS 17.

For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Domecast politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it on Megaphone, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.