Reports: Cooper on short vetting list for Harris

(The Center Square) – Vetting for potential candidates to run alongside Kamala Harris in her bid for president includes North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, according to published reports.

Cooper, longtime ally of the Biden administration, on Sunday was immediately in the list of potential vice president choices and his name in the reports is of no surprise. President Joe Biden on Sunday, by way of social media post, stepped away from his reelection campaign and endorsed his vice president.

The Center Square has been unsuccessful with the governor's office since Monday having questions answered related to Cooper’s potential spot on her ticket.

A Tuesday afternoon report by USA Today listed Cooper, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro , Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker , U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and former Louisiana Rep. Cedric Richmond as possible candidates. The Gannett publication said Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg were not on the list.

Another afternoon report, by The Hill , listed Cooper, Shapiro, Whitmer, Walz and Kelly.

Cooper, Shapiro, Whitmer and Kelly represent four of the seven battleground states. Georgia, Wisconsin and Nevada are the others, with 93 electoral college votes among the seven.

Whitmer told a Michigan television station on Monday she doesn’t plan to leave the state.

Shapiro was a first-time gubernatorial winner in 2022, when Democrats flipped a U.S. Senate seat in his state on the strength of John Fetterman’s win over Donald Trump-endorsed Mehmet Oz. And it wasn’t as close as expected – 51.2%-46.3% – despite health questions dogging Fetterman.

Cooper is unbeaten in 13 elections – three for the North Carolina House of Representatives, four in the state Senate, four four-year terms for attorney general, and two four-year terms for governor. Finishing his second four-year term in December, state law prevents him running for a third consecutive and he has not announced plans.

There’s no indication of when Harris will name the choice. She had a previously scheduled stop in Milwaukee, Wis., on Tuesday that was expected to serve as a campaign rally. National media will have eyes toward Charlotte on Wednesday when Trump, the former president and Republican nominee, stumps at the Bojangles’ Coliseum.