Under the Dome, NC governor’s race edition: What will Gov. Cooper do next year?

Hello and welcome to the governor’s race edition of our Under the Dome newsletter. Dawn Vaughan here, The News & Observer’s Capitol bureau chief.

The first Council of State meeting since the primary election was held this past week, which meant the first time sitting Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper was at a conference table with Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson and Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein since they became their parties’ nominee for governors. Also at the table was State Treasurer Dale Folwell, who lost his primary for the Republican nomination to Robinson.

The meeting itself was pretty vanilla, given the power players at the table where they meet monthly in the N.C. Department of Transportation building across the street from the Capitol.

Later that day, Folwell told reporters that he would not endorse Robinson. That’s no surprise given what Folwell told me and others for months about his low opinion of Robinson.

Gov. Cooper’s next job

After the meetings, Cooper usually does a brief press gaggle, which is a news phrase meaning that someone will stand and take a few questions while reporters stand around them like a gaggle of geese. At this one, I asked him about the time he’s been spending lately with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in North Carolina. Actually, not just here, as Cooper recently flew down to the Old North State with Biden from Washington.

Cooper always passes when reporters ask him what’s next, but has said that he wants to continue in public service. That means some sort of appointed or elected job; it could mean anything from running for U.S. Senate to seeking an appointment in the Biden administration.

I asked Cooper what he talked about with Biden and Harris.

“We talked a lot about implementing health care for North Carolinians, 1,000 people a day on Medicaid expansion,” Cooper said. “We talked about the threat and this election, to health care from Donald Trump, from Mark Robinson, from a cast of characters who want to rip the Affordable Care Act away from North Carolinians and from Americans.”

Cooper said they also talked about “infrastructure, high speed internet, things that we’re doing there. We’ve talked a bit about the challenges of making sure that we get these investments in the ground effectively and efficiently. And we talked about his campaign here in North Carolina. And I believe that they’re going to put forward a strong effort in North Carolina at this time.”

My folllow-up question was: “Would you want to work for them next year?” meaning when Cooper leaves office.

“I’m not thinking about next year,” Cooper said.

You can decide if you believe that Cooper isn’t thinking about his next move, but if he does get a Biden appointment next year, I don’t think we’ll be surprised.

I asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on the day of Biden and Harris’ visit to Raleigh about Cooper and his future with the administration.

She didn’t really answer, instead sticking to talking about that day’s event and saying that, “we’re happy to have him join the president and vice president today in North Carolina.”

For now, Cooper is working to help reelect Biden — and to elect Stein, who also spoke at a recent Biden and Harris event.

Robinson’s family business

The Assembly reported this past week that Robinson’s family business, the nonprofit Balanced Nutrition run by his wife, Yolanda Hill, was closing down. The group serves as a middleman with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services to provide government-funded food to child care centers.

The Assembly’s story quotes Hill’s email to clients saying that “with a heavy heart” she was leaving the Child and Adult Food Care Program, which provided the entire funding of her nonprofit. She cited Robinson’s run for governor.

Balanced Nutrition has been the subject of scrutiny by the conservative website The Daily Haymaker for several months. As WUNC noted this week, Robinson’s autobiography, “We Are the Majority!” describes how Hill’s income meant he could leave his furniture factory job to campaign.

Stay informed

Don’t forget to follow our Under the Dome tweets and listen to our Under the Dome podcast to stay up to date. On our Under the Dome podcast episode posting Monday morning, I talk with politics reporters Avi Bajpai and Danielle Battaglia about several immigration stories that will publish this week. You can also listen to clips from Bajpai’s interviews with state Rep. Destin Hall, a Caldwell County Republican, and Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden.

You can sign up to receive the Under the Dome newsletter at newsobserver.com/newsletters. Want your friends to get our email, too? Forward them this newsletter so they can sign up here.