By Cash Michaels, Peacemaker Senior Contributor
No, he won’t be the next vice president of the United States, having taken himself out of the running weeks ago. But that doesn’t mean Gov. Roy Cooper isn’t bullish on Democratic Party presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ chances to make history as the first woman of color to be elected commander-in-chief.
“I got that 2008 feel,” Cooper told MSNBC’s “The Weekend” Saturday. “We won North Carolina for Barack Obama; I have that same feeling now. We’re gonna really get to work here.”
2008, of course, was the last time North Carolina elected a Democrat to the White House, namely Barack Obama, something that only happened once before. Obama was the first African American ever elected president in history, though he ran for reelection and won in 2012, he lost North Carolina by a slim margin to Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah.
Still, the tremendous energy and Democratic Party unity in Obama’s 2008 campaign is something many political observers now say seems evident in the comparatively short time that VP Harris has been campaigning, ever since Pres. Joe Biden announced just two weeks ago that he would not run for reelection.
Gov. Cooper told MSNBC that North Carolina’s voting population has changed to become even more Democratic than in 2008.
“We have people moving into North Carolina from the technology sector, from the life sciences sector, from the aerospace sector,” Cooper said. “The data shows that we can flip North Carolina for the Democrats. And we’re really excited about that opportunity. And it’s pretty clear that the Harris campaign believes that, too, because of all of the swing states where she’s going… .”
In several national polls, VP Harris has either drawn equal to, or slightly behind Donald Trump, all within the statistical margin of error of plus or minus three points. By most calculations, at this point, the race for president is seen as a “toss-up.”
In North Carolina, where Biden lost to Trump in 2020 by less than 75,000 votes, polls show that Trump still maintains a slight lead over Harris. But that could change with the election more than 90 days away.
As in sixteen years ago, young people are seen as being critical to a Harris victory in North Carolina and other battleground states.
“In this election, we know young voters will be key, and we know your vote cannot be taken for granted,” Harris told members of the Voters of Tomorrow Summit in a virtual message last week. “It must be earned, and that is exactly what we will do.”
The virtual event joined Gen Z organizers and activists from chapters across twenty states and volunteers even further.
“Youth voters are fired up this election,” said Joey Hannum, spokesperson for the North Carolina Democratic Coordinated Campaign, in a statement. “We’re continuing to build on our statewide campus-organizing program and extensive youth engagement efforts to get the word out about how Vice President Kamala Harris is delivering for North Carolina and young people.”
According to published reports, since Pres. Biden dropped out of the race, and VP Harris entered, voter registration across the country has skyrocketed, and fundraising, mostly in small donations, has surpassed the $300 million mark.
