ELIZABETH CITY, N.C — We're still waiting to find out who will be Kamala Harris' running mate but now we know it won't be North Carolina's Governor Roy Cooper.
On X Tuesday night, Gov. Cooper said he's pulling out of consideration to be Harris' running mate.
Watch: NC Gov. Cooper opted out of Harris VP vetting
In a statement, he said he strongly supports Vice President Harris' campaign for president and while he's honored to be considered for the role it wasn't the right time for North Carolina.
Dr. Eric Claville, a political analyst and professor at Norfolk State University, believes part of Cooper's reasoning was to keep Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson from serving as acting governor.
"He is concerned about North Carolina and more specifically because of the Lt. Governor.," Claville said. "Some of the extreme views that the Lt. Governor has and he wants to make sure North Carolina continues to grow the way he is leading it."
According to the state constitution, the lieutenant governor would perform the governor's duties when the governor is absent from the state.
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Robinson who is a Republican is running to be governor Democrat Josh Stein.
Cooper is unable to run again due to term limits.
News 3 reached out to Robinson's campaign for a reaction to Cooper's decision and concerns from some democrats on what Robinson would do as acting governor.
His team said they could not provide a comment.
News 3 also reached out to Cooper but did not hear back,
Some voters in Elizabeth City said they think Cooper's decision was the right move.
"It's nice to see North Carolina being taken care of still," Seth Leton said.
Claville said with Cooper out of the picture, North Carolina is once again a toss-up for both parties.
"I think Governor Roy Cooper on the ticket for Vice President would have put North Carolina in major play for the Democratic Party," Claville said.
However Claville said as we get closer to Harris choosing a running mate, there are still several candidates that could still bring energy and attract a new demographic.
"I believe that Governor Shapiro is the front runner however I still believe that Mark Kelly and his wife Gabby Giffords offer a great story for this ticket," Claville said.
