North Carolina governor: If Harris wins state, “she is the next president”

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Sunday that if Vice President Kamala Harris wins his state, then “she is the next president of the United States.”

“Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan asked the governor on Sunday whether North Carolinians are open to persuasion when it comes to Harris’ race for the White House.

“There’s no question about it. It’s close here in North Carolina. It always is,” Cooper said. “This was Biden-Harris’s closest loss in 2020, only 1.3%. So the fact that Kamala Harris, as Vice President of the United States, has been to North Carolina 17 times shows that she cares about our state.”

The conquest for the Tar Heel State’s 16 electoral votes has long tantalized Democrats, which have not been won by a Democrat since former President Barack Obama in 2008.  North Carolina’s record of Democratic governors and specifically Cooper’s success in the state may be the party’s source of optimism. 

Cooper is not running for reelection, with Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein facing off against right-wing Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. A New York Times/Siena poll from August had Stein leading by 10 points, and Democrats are hoping that Robinson’s inflammatory rhetoric will help them up and down the ballot. 

In late August, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report shifted North Carolina from “lean Republican” to a “toss up.” Jessica Taylor, the senate and governors editor for The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter told CBS News last week that the Biden campaign wanted to make North Carolina competitive, but she said that it was Harris who transformed the state to a battleground. 

“And so we’ve seen significant shifts, I think, with enthusiasm among Black voters, among younger voters, and the polls that we have seen show this very much to be a toss up contest,” Taylor said at the time. 

The Cook Political Report survey from late July/early August shows Harris leading by one point from former President Donald Trump in North Carolina, 48% to 47%/ A change from their May report, where President Biden trailed Trump by seven points, 41% to 48%.

New CBS polling also shows other three key battleground states—Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin—as tight races ahead of the first Harris-Trump debate on Tuesday with the economy proving to remain a top issue for voters. Cooper said Sunday that North Carolinians will be paying attention to the debate and Harris’ economic agenda.

“And she’s got a plan. She’s got a plan to lower costs for North Carolinians, particularly in this childcare arena, drug pricing. We’re excited about the economic plan that she has… and I think North Carolinians will respond to it,” Cooper said.

Following Tuesday’s debate, Harris will return to North Carolina on Thursday for a campaign event to kick off a battleground tour. Second gentleman Douglas Emhoff and first lady of Minnesota Gwen Walz are also set to begin a bus tour across the state this week.

Cooper said Sunday that he believes the more that North Carolinians hear Harris’ messaging, the more support she will continue to receive in the state.

“When we continue to get this information out to the American public, and to people here in North Carolina, that Kamala Harris has an economic plan that’s going to help lower the cost for everyday people, that’s going to help families thrive, that is going to protect women’s reproductive freedom. I think at the end of the day, that’s going to be what works here,” Cooper said.

And when asked if he’d be open to potentially serving as attorney general in a Harris-Walz administration, Cooper left off with a “we’ll see.” Cooper and Harris have known each other since they both served as attorneys general of their states. 

In:
• North Carolina