N.C. Gov. Cooper withdraws from Harris VP sweepstakes, Beshear reportedly not in final 3

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper speaking at a Biden-Harris campaign rally earlier this year. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

The New York Times and CNN were the first to report on Monday evening that North Carolina’s Gov. Roy Cooper has withdrawn from consideration to be the running mate for the all-but-certain Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.

The reporting by the two national outlets — both of which cited unnamed sources — confirmed a story posted this morning by Bloomberg that Harris’s team had narrowed its focus to three potential candidates: Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona U.S. Senator Mark Kelly.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear also has been mentioned as a possible running mate to Harris and appeared on her behalf at a rally n Forsyth County, Georgia, on Sunday.

It has long been common for potential candidates seeking to be selected for high governmental posts to withdraw ahead of time when they receive word that they will not get the nod.

In a post on the social media platform X later in the evening, Cooper confirmed the news:

Cooper did not directly address the vice-presidential pick Monday evening as he took part in a virtual fundraiser hosted by the group “White Dudes for Harris.” Cooper used his four minutes in the national spotlight to tell supporters that disrespect of women permeates Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans.

Cooper then turned his attention to a series of remarks attributed to Lt. Governor Mark Robinson, who’s running for governor.

“Here are some of the horrible things that Mark Robinson has said, which I think he’s saying the not so quiet part out loud for MAGA Republicans. He has said that men should lead not women. He has said that once women get pregnant, that it’s not their body anymore. He has said that women who aren’t responsible enough to keep their skirts down are having abortions. That’s the kind of disrespect of women that we see with MAGA Republicans and particularly in their leaders,” said Cooper.

Cooper called Harris a strong woman, who cares about the pocketbook issues. “So, here’s what I tell you guys, be unafraid, be unafraid to go and talk with your friends about the importance of this race, the importance of electing Kamala Harris’s president and the importance to our country. I know we all love our country and now we can show it by getting to work,” Cooper said.

As NC Newsline previously reported, Cooper was considered a strong contender for the running mate slot given his status as a popular Democratic governor in a toss-up state that has almost always voted Republican in recent presidential elections. That he is nearing the end of his second term, cannot run again this fall, and has a longstanding relationship with Harris dating back to their years as North Carolina and California attorneys general were also considered strong selling points.

Some observers, however, have noted that at 67, Cooper is the oldest of the potential candidates and is not known as an especially gifted orator. The fact that North Carolina law makes the state’s Lt. Governor the “acting governor” when the real governor is out of the state was also seen by some as a potential liability, given that Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is the Republican nominee for the state’s highest office in the fall.

This story is republished from NC Newsline, a sister publication of the Kentucky Lantern and part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.