After fighting virus, storms and Republicans, departing North Carolina Gov. Cooper focuses on wins

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is leaving his job after eight years in which the southern Democrat picked his moments against a Republican-dominated legislature, winning big on Medicaid expansion and clean energy while falling short in fights over private-school vouchers and abortion rights.

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Cooper, who steered the state through the coronavirus pandemic, Hurricanes Helene and Florence and an early flashpoint in the culture wars over access to public restrooms, was barred from seeking a third consecutive term. He is wrapping up 24 consecutive years in statewide office — the first 16 as attorney general.

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In a December interview with The Associated Press at the executive mansion, Cooper reflected on his gubernatorial terms with an emphasis on the positive — an easier undertaking compared with many Democrats around the country in the aftermath of this year’s election.

“To be able to wake up every morning and get to lead the state that you love has been humbling, challenging and fulfilling. I have really valued every day,” said Cooper, who will be succeeded by state Attorney General Josh Stein, a fellow Democrat, in early January.

Faced with veto-proof majorities for almost half of his time as governor, Cooper was unable to stop many GOP initiatives, including deep income tax cuts, taxpayer-funded vouchers to help public school students attend private schools and new restrictions on abortion.

But Cooper, one of several Democratic governors seen as potential contenders for federal office, managed last year to persuade GOP legislative leaders to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act _ something he had sought since getting sworn in as governor in 2017. Now 600,000 low-income adults are enrolled in the program a year ahead of expectations.

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“This is a generational investment in people’s health,” Cooper said during a farewell address last week in Nash County, where he grew up and launched his first gubernatorial campaign in 2015. Another bipartisan agreement was reached in 2021 on a milestone energy bill that ordered sharp reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.

Cooper takes credit for conditions that led to big corporate expansions that he says have contributed to hundreds of thousands of new jobs being created during the past eight years, including those in the clean energy sector. But he also gives his rare praise to Republican lawmakers for all working together on offering economic incentives that have lured companies such as Apple, Toyota and Boom Supersonic to build in the state.

Still, Republicans contend Cooper receives too much acclaim for the state’s broad economic success and has pushed for reckless state spending at every turn. Most of his record 100-plus vetoes were overridden.

“There has not been a governor who has had less of his agenda enacted and North Carolina has succeeded in spite of his leadership failures,” state GOP spokesperson Matt Mercer said.

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Regardless, Cooper’s perceived accomplishments in a swing state raised his national profile during this year’s presidential campaign, making him as a potential running mate for Kamala Harris until he said it “just wasn’t the right time” for him and for North Carolina. Now Cooper, 67, will have to decide whether trying to unseat U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican, in 2026 is in the cards after holding what he calls the “best job I have ever had.”

While North Carolina Democrats have won eight of past nine gubernatorial elections, they haven’t won a U.S. Senate race since 2008.

“If you’re going to run for public office again, you must have your heart and soul in it, you must have the fire in the belly,” Cooper told the AP.

With that in mind, he said he planned to take a couple of months to clear his head before deciding what’s next: “I’m going to think about how I can best contribute to the things that I care about.”

It’s little wonder why many North Carolina Democrats want Cooper to remain on the political stage. He has never lost a race for state office, from the legislature in the mid-1980s and including a 10,000-vote win over then-GOP Gov. Pat McCrory in 2016.

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“What he’s done really from my perspective is he’s kept the progressive flame alive in North Carolina in a difficult time,” said Gary Pearce, a longtime Democratic political consultant who worked with four-term Gov. Jim Hunt. “I’m not sure anybody else could have done it as well as he did.”

Cooper took on Republicans even before he was sworn in.

As governor-elect he began a series of lawsuits challenging legislation approved weeks before he took office that shifted executive branch powers to the legislature. The legal results were mixed, and even now litigation over his appointment powers remains in court. This month, Republican lawmakers enacted more changes that would weaken Stein’s gubernatorial authority. A lawsuit has been filed.

In his first three months in office, Cooper worked with lawmakers to partially repeal the 2016 “bathroom bill,” which had required transgender people to use public bathrooms aligned with the gender on their birth certificate. The law had lost the state business, including canceled sporting events and job expansions, and “North Carolina’s reputation was in tatters,” Cooper said.

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Eight years later, “we built a North Carolina that is healthier, better educated, with more money in people’s pockets, and we stand ready to welcome prosperity with open arms for generations to come,” Cooper said.

Republicans cite several shortcomings in Cooper’s administration. They include spending overruns at the state Department of Transportation; continued delays to rebuild or renovate homes for eastern North Carolina residents after Hurricanes Matthew in 2016 and Florence in 2018; and executive orders that helped extend restrictions on businesses and school instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s been painful dealing with the governor fiscally,” Republican state Sen. Warren Daniel said. “I just think he’s not very good at managing government.”

Cooper has defended his actions, particularly his pandemic leadership, saying North Carolina came out better than many other states.

Even in policy defeats, Cooper secured the admiration of supporters. The Democratic governor used lots of political capital in 2023 trying unsuccessfully to block a law that changed the state’s ban on most abortions from after 20 weeks of pregnancy to 12 weeks. Republicans overrode his veto.

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“There’s simply no governor who’s ever fought as hard or as publicly as Gov. Cooper has to protect access to abortion,” said Paige Johnson with Planned Parenthood South Atlantic.

Plenty of North Carolinians see that differently. Cooper’s opposition to the abortion bill reflects an administration that “has been consistently hostile to policies that serve the best interests of North Carolina families,” said Tami Fitzgerald, executive director of the NC Values Coalition.

Cooper said he has confidence that Stein, who succeeded him as attorney general, will “continue a lot of the progress that we have made.” Cooper hired Stein two decades ago, while attorney general, to be his consumer protection chief.

Otherwise, Cooper knows that he’ll miss “having the opportunity every single day to do something to make a real difference.”

“That’s what you can do in this job,” he added. “And whatever I decide to do, that’s going to be hard to replicate.”

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