Who is NC Gov. Roy Cooper, speaker at the Democratic National Convention?

For more on Cooper’s speech, read this story.

North Carolina’s Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper briefly made national news as a possible contender to be Kamala Harris’ running mate.

On the first day of the Democratic National Convention, he dismissed that to a Politico reporter as “old news.”

He’s settled into his role as Harris cheerleader, and that includes a spot on the speaker list for the DNC on Thursday night, the last night of the convention when Harris accepts the party’s nomination for president.

According to the DNC, Cooper is scheduled to give remarks right before Harris gives her acceptance speech. He will speak in the 10 p.m. EST hour after remarks from actress Eva Longoria, former Congressman Adam Kinzinger, and Maya Harris (Kamala Harris’ sister).

Here’s what you should know about Cooper.

Why Cooper has a ‘2008 feeling’

Cooper, 67, finishes out his second term as governor on Dec. 31, and the state limits governors to two consecutive terms, so being available is one of the reasons he had been seen as a contender for VP.

He also leads a swing state, and the latest polls show that North Carolina’s electoral votes could go to Harris rather than Trump, who has won them in the past two elections. That “2008 feeling” that Cooper talked about at Harris’ recent rally in Raleigh and multiple times since is a reference to former President Barack Obama winning North Carolina that year.

Cooper has been a champion of Biden and Harris and their administration, greeting them at the airport during visits and giving speeches at their official and campaign events.

North Carolina’s largest voting group is unaffiliated voters, followed by Democrats and then Republicans.

UNC grad Cooper’s political resume

Cooper has never lost an election, winning the governor’s mansion twice: in 2016 and 2020. Before that, he served four terms as attorney general, and before that served in both the Senate and House. He started his career as an attorney.

Cooper has also chaired the Democratic Governors Association.

Cooper went to both undergraduate and law school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Cooper vs. Republicans in NC

Republicans have controlled the General Assembly during Cooper’s two terms as governor.

While Republicans have overturned his vetoes since they gained a supermajority in 2023, they have also made compromises with Cooper on some issues, like Medicaid expansion.

Cooper has worked well enough with Republican legislative leaders to bring major new jobs to the state, from Apple to Toyota. The state often tops lists of the best places to do business. Republicans, however, also take credit for the state’s business climate.

Cooper has been scrutinized for his COVID-19 restrictions, which resulted in a new law limiting the governor’s powers to issues states of emergency and executive orders without agreement from other top officials. He has also been criticized for the pace of his administration’s response to hurricane relief.

Major issues he’s championed as governor have included public education funding and teacher raises, Medicaid expansion, expanding infrastructure and addressing climate change.

The next NC governor

One of the reasons Cooper gave for not wanting to be Harris’ running mate was that when he leaves the state, Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is acting governor. Robinson is also the Republican nominee for governor against Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein. Cooper is campaigning for Stein, a longtime friend.

But Cooper leaves the state plenty, including to spend the week at DNC. The state’s governor has little power by design, and the only time Robinson did anything as acting governor was when he issued a proclamation after Israel was attacked by Hamas in October 2023. The most power lies in the hands of the legislature, which is already controlled by Republicans.

Cooper also said he didn’t want to be VP because the timing wasn’t right.

How much was Lt. Gov. Robinson a factor in NC Gov. Cooper passing on Harris veepstakes?

Cooper’s family and pets

Cooper, whose full name is Roy Asberry Cooper III, is from the town of Nashville in North Carolina’s Nash County. His father Roy Cooper Jr. was a lawyer and farmer, and his mother, Beverly Cooper, was a school teacher. His brother Pell is a judge. Roy Cooper is married to Kristin Cooper, also an attorney, and they met at the General Assembly, where she worked as legislative counsel. They have three grown daughters — Hilary, Natalie and Claire.

The Coopers have a rescue dog, a mixed breed named Violet. They also have a few cats and an honorary First Pet, Sadie the Dalmatian, whose owner is on the governor’s staff. Sadie is the pet most often seen on the downtown Raleigh mansion grounds and is friendly to visitors during events.

Cooper’s faith

Cooper belongs to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), a mainline Protestant denomination. He has served as an elder and taught Sunday school at his church, and in 2023 received a N.C. Council of Churches’ Faith Active In Public Life Award.

What’s next?

Cooper always dodges questions about his future, saying only that he is interested in public service after his gubernatorial term ends. But Cooper himself, as well as his top adviser, are leaving options open including running for U.S. Senate in 2026 or a Cabinet appointment if Harris wins.

During that Politico interview at DNC on Monday, Cooper also briefly dissed Ohio. That’s something you may hear North Carolinians doing when it comes to the topic of the Wright Brothers.

Cooper mentioned Ohio and noted quickly that it is “not first in flight.”

NC sports and more

As a UNC graduate, Cooper is a big Carolina fan, especially basketball. But he’s perhaps a bigger fan of the Carolina Hurricanes, the state’s NHL team. And while North Carolina is the birthplace of Pepsi, Cooper’s favorite soda is diet Sun Drop. He changed his Twitter bio to “diet soda sommelier” and Democrats sold merch with the moniker after a viral video of him talking about why he likes diet Sun Drop so much.

Under the Dome

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