The Atlantic: “Figuring out why Cooper keeps winning could have potentially huge implications for determining whether he’s a fluke or a model for Democrats across the South and in other red states. Cooper’s races never became national Democratic causes. He has set no major fundraising records. He’s not an otherworldly political talent. And yet his success is already a source of chatter among some political obsessives gaming out the 2024 presidential ticket. Cooper, they told me, could offer a compelling balance to Vice President Kamala Harris as the white male Democratic governor of an important swing state. (Allies of President Joe Biden say he’ll run for a second term, but he’ll be 82 years old by then.)
In the meantime, the seminars on Cooper’s secret have started without him. In late November, the Democratic Governors Association convened a call with political aides to incumbent governors up for reelection next year; many of them are in red or purple states and had watched Cooper’s race for pointers.
The presentation wasn’t a dissection of the electorate that revealed the North Carolina team’s genius. Instead, DGA operatives offered mundane tips. One piece of advice: Make sure voters can see you running a competent and effective government. Amid the pandemic, for example, Cooper took a low-key approach to issuing safety restrictions, calmly explaining the moves during press conferences while avoiding scraps with the Trump White House or other drama. He didn’t try to mimic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, whose daily televised briefings fluctuated between sitcom and soap opera, and led to accusations that Cuomo was more focused on public relations than pandemic administration.
But the secret to Cooper’s victories may be hard to replicate—a lot of it may have to do with Cooper himself.”