North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) said Sunday that he believes his state will vote for a Democratic presidential candidate for the first time in more than a decade this November.
Cooper, once considered a top vice presidential option for Vice President Harris’s campaign, said in an MSNBC “The Weekend” interview that Harris is a candidate that can take the state.
“I got that 2008 feel,” he said. “We won North Carolina for Barack Obama; I have that same feeling now. We’re gonna really get to work here.”
The 2008 election was the last time North Carolina voted for a Democrat after voting for former President Carter in 1976. Former President Trump won the state over President Biden by 1.3 points in 2020.
Recent polls have shown Harris as competitive with Trump in the state, though still trailing by single digits.
“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 next week.”
Nationally, Trump leads Harris by a slim 1.1 point margin, according to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ average of polls.