North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced Monday night that he is removing himself from consideration to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate.
Harris’ decision on a running mate could come within a week, two people familiar with the matter said as the Vice President wants to make the official announcement before August 7.
“I strongly support Vice President Harris’ campaign for President. I know she’s going to win and I was honored to be considered for this role. This just wasn’t the right time for North Carolina and for me to potentially be on a national ticket,” Cooper said in a statement posted to his personal account on X. “As l’ve said from the beginning, she has an outstanding list of people from which to choose, and we’ll all work to make sure she wins.”
The New York Times first reported that Cooper was withdrawing his name from consideration.
Cooper was asked to provide information for the vetting process and declined to do so, according to a source familiar with the situation. A Harris campaign source says Cooper took his name out of consideration because he wants to run for the Senate in 2026.
Reports have indicated that Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania are Harris’ top two contenders for her running mate.
Kentucky’s Andy Beshear and Minnesota’s Tim Walz, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg are among the other rumored names.
“Kamala Harris is a strong woman. She’s going to run this country in a way that she cares about the pocketbook issues. … She’s going to work to clean our environment. She’s going to work to make sure that people have health care and quality education. That’s the kind of person that we need,” Cooper said on a fundraising call for Harris on Monday night.
The Democratic National Committee’s rules panel last week adopted the rules the party will use to choose its presidential nominee, with voting to officially nominate Harris likely to begin August 1.
