SUPPLY, N.C. (AP) 鈥� A day after confirming he wouldn鈥檛 be a candidate for Vice President North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Tuesday at a public event that he鈥檚 excited that Democrats 鈥渉ave a lot of great options for her to choose from.鈥�
Speaking in coastal Brunswick County with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan to celebrate federal funding for land conservation, Cooper reiterated his Monday message by saying "this was not the right time for our state or for me to potentially be on a national ticket.鈥�
Cooper, barred by term limits from seeking reelection this year, had been among roughly a dozen potential contenders that Harris鈥� team was initially looking at for a vice presidential pick. He鈥檚 been a surrogate for President Joe Biden鈥檚 reelection bid and now for Harris.
鈥淚 am going to work every day to see that she is elected," Cooper 鈥淚 believe that she will win, and I look forward to this campaign because she has the right message and she is the right person for this country.鈥�
In making his decision, Cooper confirmed Tuesday that he was concerned in part about what Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson could do if he left the state to campaign as part of the Democratic ticket. says that 鈥渄uring the absence of the Governor from the State ... the Lieutenant Governor shall be Acting Governor.鈥� Robinson is running for governor this fall.
鈥淲e had concerns that he would try to seize the limelight because there would be a lot, if I were the vice presidential candidate, on him, and that would be a real distraction to the presidential campaign,鈥� Cooper said.
Cooper pointed to when he traveled to Japan last fall on an economic development trip. As acting governor at the time, Robinson held a news conference during his absence to announce he had issued a 鈥淣C Solidarity with Israel Week鈥� proclamation after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack inside the country.
Cooper also said Tuesday that he informed Harris' campaign 鈥渆arly in the process鈥� that he would not be a candidate, but that he didn't reveal publicly that decision at first so as not to dampen enthusiasm for Harris within the party.
鈥淢y name had already been prominently put into the media and so I did not want to cause any problems for her or to slow her great momentum,鈥� he told WRAL-TV while in Supply, located about 160 miles (258 kilometers) south of Raleigh. Cooper said he announced his decision when 鈥渢here had begun to be a lot of speculation about the fact that I was not going to be in the pool of candidates, and in order to avoid the distraction of the speculation.鈥�
Tuesday's event at Green Swamp Preserve celebrated a $421 million grant for projects in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Maryland to reduce climate pollution. The money will be used to preserve, enhance or restore coastal habitats, forests and farmland, Cooper's office said.
The Associated Press
