Welcome to the governor’s race edition of our Under the Dome politics newsletter. I’m Dawn Vaughan, The News & Observer’s Capitol bureau chief.
As Republican House Speaker Tim Moore was finishing up his usual press gaggle on the floor after session on Wednesday, I asked him about Republican Senate leader Phil Berger and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.
For several years now, I have written stories with the phrase “Moore and Berger” or “Cooper, Berger and Moore” so many times I’ve lost count. I quipped that Cooper, Berger and Moore sounds like a law firm. Moore said he’d be open to practicing law with them both.
We are approaching the end of an era.
Cooper and Moore are in lame duck territory, and at least one of them will soon be headed to Washington. Moore is running for Congress and expected to win the seat in a Republican-favored district. Cooper, if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the presidency, may get a spot in her administration or run for U.S. Senate in 2026. That leaves Berger to deal with the next House speaker and the next governor.
As you know by now, the next governor will either be Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein or Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. And the next House speaker, assuming Republicans maintain control, is favored to be Republican Rep. Destin Hall.
I don’t know if I may be writing “Stein, Berger and Hall” or “Robinson, Berger and Hall” stories. They dynamic will be a significant change because Cooper, Berger and Moore — despite their differences, managed to lead a purple state in a way to bring significant economic development and population growth. And a change in that variable could change the trajectory of North Carolina.
Moore told me that he’ll miss working with Berger, and even with Cooper. “Roy Cooper is a good man, but sometimes has some bad ideas,” Moore said.
“It’s just a part of the job. And I guess we’re all attorneys as well, so you’re kind of used to — you advocate for a client or advocate for a position, and you try to avoid it becoming personal. But I’ll tell you, we’ve had some great successes of a bipartisan nature,” Moore said.
When Moore and Berger talked to reporters this week, they also answered a few questions about Robinson’s potential impact on the rest of the ballot. Robinson is down in several polls vs. Stein, some significantly.
Berger focused on Senate races, not Robinson
Robinson came to the legislature to preside over the Senate session on Monday. He apologized to senators for being “rusty.” He hasn’t come to the Legislative Building in awhile, even though the job of the lieutenant governor is to preside over Senate sessions. He left immediately after session, while Berger talked to reporters as he usually does.
Berger was asked about Robinson’s impact on other Republican candidates on the ballot, as well as his view of the governor’s race. He said he was “concentrating on the Senate races.”
“We are running our Senate races, and we are very comfortable with the races that we originally thought would be competitive, that we needed to concentrate on. Our polling, and our view, of those races are unchanged as a result of anything that’s occurred in the gubernatorial race,” Berger said.
He also said that he hasn’t been able to go to any campaign events of former President Donald Trump and running mate U.S. Sen. JD Vance nor Robinson, but that was only because of his schedule so far, and he has “no problem attending those events.”
I asked Moore on Wednesday about Robinson’s impact on ballots given recent polls, whether on Trump or down ballot. Moore said he thinks voters will choose Trump regardless of the governor’s race.
And speaking of the presidential race, Stein spoke at Harris’ rally in Greensboro on Thursday.
Stay informed about #ncpol
Don’t forget to follow our Under the Dome tweets and listen to our Under the Dome podcast to stay up to date. Our new episode posts Monday morning, and I’m joined by my politics team colleagues Kyle Ingram and Avi Bajpai. We talk about House Bill 10, veto overrides and changes to North Carolina’s ballot because of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
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