Roy Cooper, 2024
The Dems need a proven candidate
Being new to the Democratic Party side of politics, I’m already scouring news stories about who could replace Biden in 2024. Right now, Roy Cooper (on Medium, he is @nc-governor) should be the one.
In 2020, I would have voted for Dez Nuts. I stopped voting Republican in 2016 and haven’t found a reason to start again any time soon. I’ve even found some candidates I like: Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, and Amy Klobuchar. I’ve even read their books (Cooper needs to write a book). Personally, I think any of them could win in 2024, though each has weaknesses. For example, Buttigieg had a problem gaining traction with African American voters.
Roy Cooper however has an item on his resume that stands out for me. He’s a Democrat in a red state that voted for Trump, twice. Yet, he’s won his two races for Governor over other Republicans.
He has an established resume for the top office, a good reputation, and could bring 15 needed electoral votes to the blue side.
Granted, there isn’t much exciting about him. He’s your standard white boy who went to law school, became a lawyer, and then got involved in politics. He served in the state legislature and was also North Carolina’s Attorney General for 16 years before being the first gubernatorial candidate in North Carolina to defeat an incumbent. He won again in 2020, both times when Trump won the state in the Presidential Elections.
There are two past issues that could be controversial. The first is his involvement with the Duke Lacrosse Case as Attorney General in which he dropped the case against the Duke players after it was shown that the Durham District Attorney may have corrupted the case. But in 2007, this garnered him bi-partisan support. Who knows how this story could be replayed in 2024?
The second is his defense of not issuing a Miranda warning to a 13-year-old accused of breaking and entering. He was the lead attorney for this case in the Supreme Court, where he lost on a 5–4 decision.
Overall, Roy Cooper is probably the strongest candidate that more people should be paying attention to. It’s uncommon for a sitting President to not run for re-election, it’s only happened six times before, the last being in 1968. No one would miss Biden in 2024. Someone needs to tell Biden that he had one job: replace Trump. Mission Accomplished.
Soon, the 2024 race will pick up steam. I’m hoping Cooper gets noticed.
