Governor Roy Cooper plans to use his prime-time speech Thursday at the Democratic National Convention to impress upon Americans the work of Vice President Kamala Harris as attorney general, her desire to help people and why she deserves their vote.
And by giving Cooper prominent speaking time, Democrats are signaling to voters that they still believe North Carolina matters in this election cycle.
A source familiar with the convention planning gave McClatchy a preview of Cooper’s speech Thursday night. Cooper will champion Harris and her commitment to working people, the source said. He will also talk about the work they do together, which he will say has helped middle-class families.
Cooper and Harris have known each other for decades, with their careers overlapping six times during Cooper’s 16 years as attorney general while serving as North Carolina’s chief legal counsel.
Their relationship was so strong that Cooper was considered as a potential running mate to Harris, a position he declined to pursue because it was not the right time. But that hasn’t stopped Cooper from campaigning for her.
Onstage, McClatchy was told, Cooper will describe Harris as someone known for pursuing violent criminals and making communities safer. He will say they worked together during the mortgage crisis to hold banks accountable and fight for the middle class.
Former President Barack Obama spoke about this work in his own speech Tuesday night.
“As attorney general of the most populous state in the country, she fought big banks and for-profit colleges and secured billions of dollars from the people they defrauded,” Obama said on stage. “After the mortgage crisis, she pressured me and my administration to make sure homeowners got fair compensation. It didn’t matter that I was a Democrat. It didn’t matter that she had knocked on doors for my campaign. She would fight to get as much help as possible to the families who deserved it.”
Cooper will also express his belief in Harris’ ability to win North Carolina in his speech. Harris would be the first Democratic presidential candidate to do so since Obama in 2008, and he would be the first Democrat since 1976.
Democrats have focused heavily on North Carolina this campaign season, investing resources, time and money in the state to win its 16 electoral votes. They have also sent Biden, Harris and surrogates, including First Lady Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, to the state on an almost weekly basis. Harris has visited the state eight times since 2024 began.
Although Republicans almost always win the state, North Carolina is considered a swing state due to the narrow majority of Republican and Democratic presidential candidates.
And this week, Sabato’s Crystal Ball from the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics reclassified North Carolina from a “more Republican-leaning” state to an undecided state after Harris repeatedly edged ahead of Trump in recent polls.
In interviews given throughout the Democratic presidential campaign, Cooper could barely contain his excitement, grinning from ear to ear and expressing his belief that Harris would win, calling it “a 2008 feeling” to Politico.
The source said Cooper will talk about how important it is that Harris fight for American families and ensure a “bright future” for communities large and small across the country.
Cooper is one of at least two North Carolinians speaking Thursday. Eric Fitts, an educator from Wake County, will take the stage around 9 p.m.
Under the dome
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