Gov. Cooper floated as potential Biden replacement

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- The eyes of the political world were on North Carolina this week as President Joe Biden rallied in Raleigh a day after his historic first debate of 2024 against former President Donald Trump.

With Governor Roy Cooper's 8 years in office coming to a close next year, there's been a lot of talk about his political future. He's been touted as a potential Democratic candidate in 2028.

But given the recent talk post-debate about whether President Biden should stay on the ticket, those conversations are happening a lot sooner.

Gov. Cooper stumped for President Joe Biden, making it clear our state is in play, as national Democrats see North Carolina as their biggest pickup opportunity.

But even some North Carolina Democrats admitted Biden's debate performance could have been better.

"When he first started out I was like oh what's going on what's happening but no I wasn't worried because I'm not going to let one performance dictate the overall performance of his presidency," said Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams.

He said he met Biden on the tarmac and wasn't concerned about his energy.

But at the national level, amid questions of Biden's age and ability, some wonder if he should be replaced. While it is possible at the party convention, it's a rare and risky political move.

"In recent years we really haven't seen it happen both of the parties have tended to lock in their candidates fairly early on," said Mitch Kokai with the John Locke Foundation.

But if that were to happen, some names are already being floated.

Axios reports one senior House Democrat floated 5 governors as potential candidates - Gretchen Whitmer from Michigan, Gavin Newsom from California, Josh Shapiro from Pennsylvania, Tim Walz from Minnesota, and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper.

ALSO SEE: What's next for Democrats post-debate? Experts weigh in

Experts say Cooper checks a lot of boxes - He's the Governor of a key swing state with high approval ratings and a Democrat who can win tough races in a Southern state - including both times in 2016 and 2020 when he won his races for Governor even when Trump won North Carolina on the same ballot.

"They see North Carolina as a state they'd like to have, they see a guy who's won in North Carolina, they say look this could be good for the ticket nationally and it could be good for bringing those 16 electoral votes to Democrats," Kokai said.

But unless things change, for now, Cooper and others making it clear, that they're sticking with Biden to be the one to try and make that happen.

"My message to all the Democrats out there that are panicking like change course and change the candidate tell me when it's happened successfully where's the precedent for it, stop complaining get on the ground and get to work," Williams said.

Even if Cooper doesn't run for president in the future, political experts say national Democrats may also see an opportunity for him to run for U.S. Senate when Republican Thom Tillis is up for re-election in 2026.