Unlike other state Democrats, NC governor won’t make presidential primary endorsement
North Carolina’s governor has decided not to endorse anyone in the Democratic presidential primary.
Gov. Roy Cooper already voted — on Saturday during early voting for the state primary on March 3, which is also Super Tuesday.
“The Governor hasn’t endorsed in past primaries and won’t be endorsing this year either,” his campaign said in a statement. “He encourages all voters to be sure they get to the polls and make their voices heard.”
Asked who Cooper voted for, a campaign spokesperson referred a reporter to the statement.
The North Carolina Democratic Party doesn’t endorse in primaries, either, according to the state party spokesperson Robert Howard.
“We like our voters to decide who our nominee is, rather than put any thumb on the scale or anything,” Howard told The News & Observer in a phone interview Tuesday. He said the party has not discussed potential endorsements with any of its elected officials or candidates.
The party plans to build the party infrastructure so whoever the presidential nominee is can hit the ground running in North Carolina, he said.
The state’s two top Democrats after Cooper — Senate Democratic Leader Dan Blue and House Democratic Leader Darren Jackson — endorsed Mike Bloomberg earlier this week.
Blue and Jackson are the minority leaders; Republicans control both House and Senate. The Democratic leaders said they think Bloomberg has the “leadership and experience” to tackle issues proposed in the General Assembly about issues like health care, public education and transportation.
Other Democratic state lawmakers have endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and billionaire investor Tom Steyer.
Then-Democratic Gov. Mike Easley endorsed Hillary Clinton in her 2008 primary against Barack Obama, who went on to receive the party’s nomination and was elected to his first of two terms in 2008.
Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest supports President Donald Trump, as do Republican Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore.
Look up your voter information on the state Board of Elections website: ncsbe.gov.
For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Domecast politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it on Megaphone, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts.
This story was originally published February 25, 2020 at 7:08 PM with the headline "Unlike other state Democrats, NC governor won’t make presidential primary endorsement."
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