With Cooper out of the country, Mark Robinson plans ‘special event’ as acting NC governor

UPDATE: Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson announced Thursday he has issued a proclamation declaring North Carolina Solidarity with Israel Week, and said he is not antisemitic despite past comments. Read the full story.

Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who is running for governor, sent an announcement to the news media on Wednesday that he will talk to reporters at a “special event” Thursday while serving as the acting governor.

According to the North Carolina Constitution, if the governor leaves the state, the lieutenant governor becomes acting governor.

Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is in Japan. He announced his public schedule for Wednesday as “leading the North Carolina delegation to the Southeast United States/Japan Economic Development Conference in Tokyo and also participating in meetings and calls with staff, state government leaders and others throughout the day.”

Cooper spokesperson Sam Chan called Robinson’s move “a stunt.”

“Courts across the country in states with similar constitutional provisions have held that executive succession clauses do not apply where the Governor is able to communicate and direct state business and there is no need for action by the Lieutenant Governor. This stunt by the Lieutenant Governor and attempt to undermine our state’s democracy is harmful to North Carolina’s reputation and a reason he should never be trusted with real responsibility,” Chan told The News & Observer.

The state Constitution says: “During the absence of the Governor from the State, or during the physical or mental incapacity of the Governor to perform the duties of his office, the Lieutenant Governor shall be Acting Governor.”

Cooper has left the state several times over the years for various events, including when he was head of the Democratic Governors Association last year. Robinson has not called any press conferences or taken action during Cooper’s previous trips out of state.

Chan said “Governor Roy Cooper is still the Governor of North Carolina,” and said that Cooper will continue to direct state business throughout the week while in Tokyo.

Robinson is the frontrunner in the 2024 Republican gubernatorial primary, running against State Treasurer Dale Folwell, former U.S. Rep. Mark Walker, former state Sen. Andy Wells and retired health executive Jesse Thomas. The Democratic frontrunner in the 2024 primary is Attorney General Josh Stein.

What the NC constitution says a governor does

The duties of a governor are lined out in the state constitution and include residing in the Executive Mansion, presenting a budget proposal, sharing information in what has become the State of the State speech, appointing people to various boards and commissions, convening General Assembly sessions in certain circumstances and granting pardons.

North Carolina’s lieutenant governor has very little power, serving on several boards and as president of the Senate. A lieutenant governor only votes in the Senate in the case of a tie, but can preside over sessions, which Robinson rarely does. He has a small office space at the Legislative Building, but the lieutenant governor’s main office is in the Hawkins-Hartness House on Blount Street a block away.

The Republican-supermajority General Assembly has weakened the office of the governor over the past few years in several ways, most recently this week in overriding a veto of a bill that takes away appointment powers from the governor. Other limits took effect earlier this year on the governor’s power to issue executive orders and during states of emergency.

Robinson’s office has not given details about the “special event” aside from the location, which will be in the legislature’s auditorium. The auditorium is used for some committee meetings and occasionally press conferences. Robinson is from the Make America Great Again wing of the Republican Party and has spoken at former President Donald Trump’s rallies.

Press conferences in the Legislative Building generally must be scheduled by a lawmaker. Former Lt. Gov. Dan Forest held a press conference in the auditorium with legislative Republicans during the pandemic.