On Sunday, President Joe Biden abandoned his reelection campaign, yielding to mounting pressure from Democrats. His endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him raises the question: Who might replace her?
Among the top contenders is North Carolina’s twice-elected Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, who is term-limited and will leave office in January.
Earlier this month, at a campaign event with Harris in Greensboro, Cooper said he’d had no conversations about joining the ticket. “That’s the kind of speculation we do not need right now,” he told reporters.
But that was then. With Biden out, Cooper, a 67-year-old lawyer with sharp political instincts and a well-honed moderate image, could soon ascend the national stage. Here’s a rundown on why.
What About Roy?
North Carolina’s two-term Democratic governor is seen as a potential running mate for Kamala Harris. Here are 10 things to know about him.
What A Year This Week Has Been
When Vice President Kamala Harris stopped in Fayetteville last Thursday, her remarks touched on President Joe Biden’s accomplishments on reproductive rights, Social Security, Medicaid benefits, student loan debt, and clean energy, as well as sharp critiques of opponents Donald Trump and J.D. Vance.
Appearing alongside N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper, she described this election as the “most existential, consequential, and important election of our lifetime.”
And that was before this weekend’s wild updates to the race.
Our partners down at CityView have a dispatch from Harris’ visit to the Sandhills.
Have a news tip for our team? You can reach us at scoops@theassemblync.com.
Balancing the Books
At Mark Robinson’s campaign appearances, there’s often a table stacked with shiny red copies of the Republican gubernatorial candidate’s 2022 memoir, We Are the Majority!: The Life and Passions of a Patriot.
But, as WUNC recently reported, Robinson’s financial disclosures reflect neither the expense of bulk book purchases nor any related income. His campaign told WUNC that “revenue from book sales did not meet the threshold for disclosure,” which is $5,000.
That made us wonder: How many people have actually bought his book?
Data from Circana BookScan show that 2,530 copies of We Are the Majority! had been sold as of Friday. Just 183 copies were sold this year. BookScan captures about 85 percent of sales through major retailers and independent booksellers.
Unfortunately, there is no data source for direct sales, such as the author hawking the book himself. Robinson’s publisher, Republic Book Publishers, did not immediately respond to questions from The Assembly.
For comparison’s sake, we looked at some books from other North Carolina politicians, as well as prominent conservatives from other states.
Memoirs penned in the last few years by Republican presidential hopefuls Tim Scott, Nikki Haley, and Ron DeSantis sold about 36,000, 119,000, and 176,000 copies, respectively, through mainstream channels.
John Edwards, the former U.S. Senator from North Carolina who made two runs for president and was Democrats’ 2004 vice presidential nominee, published a memoir of his trial court days while his national profile was rising. Four Trials, published in 2004, has sold at least 25,000 copies.
Though he’s technically not the author, one other current candidate to represent North Carolinians in a high-level office has a book recently out: Mark Harris. His wife, Elizabeth Harris, wrote Thirteen Ballots, an account of the ballot fraud scandal that torpedoed his 2018 run for office. The book, released in 2021 by the self-publishing company Outskirts Press, has sold about 300 copies, according to BookScan.
Sales were considerably higher for Mark Meadows, the North Carolina congressional representative turned White House chief of staff who published the 2021 memoir The Chief’s Chief. The book sold about 23,000 copies, according to BookScan, but Meadows’ publisher has argued in court that sales were depressed by a discrepancy between what news outlets said Meadows told a special prosecutor about the 2020 election and what he wrote in the book. All Seasons filed a lawsuit last year to try to force Meadows to return his $350,000 advance and pay $1 million in damages for breach of contract.
Rufus Edmisten, North Carolina’s former attorney general, secretary of state, and 1984 Democratic gubernatorial candidate, published That’s Rufus in 2019 that has sold about 600 copies, BookScan said. And the data show a 2005 memoir by Senator Jesse Helms sold about 3,000.
—Carli Brosseau
What We’re Reading
Trump Stump: Former President Donal Trump will be in Charlotte on Wednesday, alongside Republican gubernatorial candidates and current Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. The Charlotte Observer has the details.
IOU: The North Carolina Justice Center won a $5.75 million settlement against debt-buyers Portfolio Recovery Associations in a class-action suit claiming it violated the law by obtaining judgments without “sufficient evidence to substantiate the debts,” NC Newsline reports.
The Search Is On: WRAL has the scoop on who will serve on the committee to determine a successor for retiring N.C. State University Chancellor Randy Woodson.
Our Recent Stories
UNC Frats Get Center Stage At RNC
The Trump campaign invited members of UNC fraternities who protected the flag to the Republican National Convention. Not everyone was enthused.
NCSU’s Randy Woodson Announces Retirement
The popular administrator stayed in his post nearly three times longer than most college leaders. Now the UNC System must undertake yet another chancellor search.
Yeti or Not, Here They Come
Western North Carolina is drawing Bigfoot hunters–from those who take cryptozoology seriously to those who are just in it for a good time. What is it about the area that attracts the Sasquatch-curious?
The Assembly is a digital magazine covering power and place in North Carolina. Sent this by a friend? Subscribe to our newsletter here.
You must be logged in to post a comment.