Cooper's Work Paid Off

One of the biggest winners in the midterm elections in North Carolina wasn’t even on the ballot. Governor Roy Cooper, with more than a little help, built the political machine that put Democrats in a position to sustain his veto and prepare them for the Battle Royale that takes place here in 2020. Cooper never stopped campaigning in the wake of his election as governor in 2016. On Tuesday, his work paid off.

Cooper served as attorney general from 2000 to 2016, passing up numerous opportunities to run for higher office despite calls for his candidacy. I used to joke that we knew election season was upon us when Cooper officially announced that he wasn’t running for whatever particular position was looking for a Democratic nominee. Pundits and political insiders speculated that Cooper lacked the ambition to run or was too cautious. In fact, he was just savvy enough to stay out of losing battles.

Once Cooper announce he was running for governor in 2013, he campaigned relentlessly. He believes that our state is under assault by forces that will, and have, set us back. He’s been at it for five years now and he’s not even half way through his first term. His victory in 2016 clearly wasn’t about him; it was about North Carolina and the progressive vision that drove the state for 50 years prior to Republican control.

He continued the fight throughout his battles with the General Assembly in the long session of 2017, setting up a political infrastructure and traveling the state to make sure it was funded. Throughout 2018, he showed up at events across North Carolina to help candidates up and down the ballot, despite two major hurricanes in the final weeks of the midterm election. He had a growing army of activists behind him and provided the leadership that a successful insurrection campaign needs.

Read more: https://www.politicsnc.com/coopers-work-paid-off/