What do you think of Roy Cooper?

[BlueSwan]

The presumably new democratic governor of North Carolina.

Is from an important swing state? Check.

Looks presidential? Check.

Has centrist appeal? Check.

Has some folksy appeal? Yeah, a bit. At least not as technocratic as many leading democrats.

Isn't closely tied to Washington? Check.

Has national profile? Nope. But as a new democratic governor of a southern state, that might be about to change.

Has charisma? Well....maybe not.

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Overall, I'm not blown away by him and his lack of appeal to the left could be a problem, but he seems like a very safe choice. If he shores up Virginia and North Carolina and presumably has more working class appeal than Hillary Clinton, the dems could probably do worse.

What do you think?

[Fuzzy Bear Loves Christian Missionaries]

In 2024 (if he's re-elected) he'll be in the mix.

[Figueira]

I was going to wait until McCrory conceded to make this thread.

I think he might be a good choice; only problem is he's too old.

[Sorenroy]

I was going to wait until McCrory conceded to make this thread.

I think he might be a good choice; only problem is he's too old.

He'll be 63 in 2020, Trump will be 74.

[BlueSwan]

I was going to wait until McCrory conceded to make this thread.

I think he might be a good choice; only problem is he's too old.

He'll be 63 in 2020, Trump will be 74.

Yeah, I don't see how 63 is too old?

[DrScholl]

If McCrory steals the election from him, he'd be a top pick. Democrats could really rally behind someone who had an election stolen from him by a rogue, thuggish GOP.

[Figueira]

I was going to wait until McCrory conceded to make this thread.

I think he might be a good choice; only problem is he's too old.

He'll be 63 in 2020, Trump will be 74.

Yeah, I don't see how 63 is too old?

Democrats do much better with younger nominees, for some reason. Roosevelt, Kennedy, Carter, Clinton, and Obama were all under fifty-five.

[Figueira]

If he runs against Tillis in 2020 and wins (which he could plausibly do regardless of whether McCrory steals this election), then he could be a great VP candidate in 2024 or 2028 (although he still has the same problem as Kaine, unless North Carolina becomes Safe D in that time which I highly doubt).

[pppolitics]

I doubt that he would run because he would have to give up running for governor.

[Figueira]

I doubt that he would run because he would have to give up running for governor.

That's another issue. He shouldn't give up a nice statewide career for a longshot presidential bid, unless he's leading in early polls or something.

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

If he runs against Tillis in 2020 and wins (which he could plausibly do regardless of whether McCrory steals this election), then he could be a great VP candidate in 2024 or 2028 (although he still has the same problem as Kaine, unless North Carolina becomes Safe D in that time which I highly doubt).

He'd be 71 in 2024, 75 in 2028 (simply too old)

[andrew_c]

He would be a good pick for VP.

[Figueira]

If he runs against Tillis in 2020 and wins (which he could plausibly do regardless of whether McCrory steals this election), then he could be a great VP candidate in 2024 or 2028 (although he still has the same problem as Kaine, unless North Carolina becomes Safe D in that time which I highly doubt).

He'd be 71 in 2024, 75 in 2028 (simply too old)

How is seventy-one or seventy-five too old for a VP candidate? I think he might be a great VP choice for a young presidential candidate, especially if he's someone who has served as both Governor and Senator.

[Maxwell]

I like Cooper, but I'd only agree with this if he had won this year in a landslide as many had hoped. As you can see, he is barely pulling it out against a guy he has led by as much as double digits all year.

[Cashew]

I like Cooper, but I'd only agree with this if he had won this year in a landslide as many had hoped. As you can see, he is barely pulling it out against a guy he has led by as much as double digits all year.

Have a landslide reelection and people will forget. He was the only democratic gubernatorial pickup in 2016 anyway.

[Figueira]

71 definitely isn't "too old" to run for President. Age isn't even in the top 10 of reasons why Roy Cooper will never be a major Presidential contender.

It's not too old to run by any means, but it might be too old to win as a Democrat in the general election. I'm not saying I would rate the presidential race as Safe R if it's Cooper vs. Trump, but older Democrats don't have a great track record of winning.

Vice president is a different story though. Seventy-one is a little old for that, but not ridiculously old.

[Suburbia]

He'd be a good dark horse veep candidate if a weak Republican in N.C. is running against him in 2020. Other than that, he'd be good for president in 2024, or maybe a future Attorney General in a future Democratic cabinet or a future DNC chair.

[BlueSwan]

If he runs against Tillis in 2020 and wins (which he could plausibly do regardless of whether McCrory steals this election), then he could be a great VP candidate in 2024 or 2028 (although he still has the same problem as Kaine, unless North Carolina becomes Safe D in that time which I highly doubt).

He'd be 71 in 2024, 75 in 2028 (simply too old)

Hold up. He's 59 now. He will be 63 in 2020 and 67 in 2024 and 71 in 2028. He's not too old.

[Adam Griffin]

Age probably doesn't matter - it's not like he'd be that old - but the country doesn't have a great track record of electing non-incumbent Democrats to the White House who are "old". The past six (Obama, Clinton, Carter, Kennedy, FDR & Wilson) were between the ages of 43 and 55 when first elected.

[Figueira]

Age probably doesn't matter - it's not like he'd be that old - but the country doesn't have a great track record of electing non-incumbent Democrats to the White House who are "old". The past six (Obama, Clinton, Carter, Kennedy, FDR & Wilson) were between the ages of 43 and 55 when first elected.

Yep. This is why I think Gillibrand, Schatz, Heinrich, Bullock, and Booker are our best bets in 2020.

[Tintrlvr]

Age probably doesn't matter - it's not like he'd be that old - but the country doesn't have a great track record of electing non-incumbent Democrats to the White House who are "old". The past six (Obama, Clinton, Carter, Kennedy, FDR & Wilson) were between the ages of 43 and 55 when first elected.

Sample sizes? This is, frankly, a dumb comment. There may be reasons why Cooper would be a mediocre candidate (boring, for one), but age is not one of them.

[Figueira]

Age probably doesn't matter - it's not like he'd be that old - but the country doesn't have a great track record of electing non-incumbent Democrats to the White House who are "old". The past six (Obama, Clinton, Carter, Kennedy, FDR & Wilson) were between the ages of 43 and 55 when first elected.

Sample sizes? This is, frankly, a dumb comment.

I don't think older Democrats are necessarily doomed, but I do think it's probably not a coincidence that younger Democrats are much more successful.

[BlueSwan]

Age probably doesn't matter - it's not like he'd be that old - but the country doesn't have a great track record of electing non-incumbent Democrats to the White House who are "old". The past six (Obama, Clinton, Carter, Kennedy, FDR & Wilson) were between the ages of 43 and 55 when first elected.

Sample sizes? This is, frankly, a dumb comment.

I don't think older Democrats are necessarily doomed, but I do think it's probably not a coincidence that younger Democrats are much more successful.

How many young guys have the republicans actually run?

My point is that it is not really a partisan issue - that dems have to run young men to win - but possibly more a case of both parties, and especially the republicans, underutilizing younger candidates. In most other western countries it is the norm that state leaders are typically in their 40's or 50's. Hell, some people are saying that Angela Merkel is too old now and she's only in her early 60's and a seriously impressive politician. In Denmark, politicians are pretty much deemed over the hill after they pass 60.

[Adam Griffin]

Age probably doesn't matter - it's not like he'd be that old - but the country doesn't have a great track record of electing non-incumbent Democrats to the White House who are "old". The past six (Obama, Clinton, Carter, Kennedy, FDR & Wilson) were between the ages of 43 and 55 when first elected.

Sample sizes? This is, frankly, a dumb comment. There may be reasons why Cooper would be a mediocre candidate (boring, for one), but age is not one of them.

"Sample sizes" is a lame, catch-all comment. Any speculation, precedent or trend having to do with presidential elections whatsoever can be negated by yelling "sample sizes!", considering there have only been a few dozen of them.

[Tintrlvr]

Age probably doesn't matter - it's not like he'd be that old - but the country doesn't have a great track record of electing non-incumbent Democrats to the White House who are "old". The past six (Obama, Clinton, Carter, Kennedy, FDR & Wilson) were between the ages of 43 and 55 when first elected.

Sample sizes? This is, frankly, a dumb comment. There may be reasons why Cooper would be a mediocre candidate (boring, for one), but age is not one of them.

"Sample sizes" is a lame, catch-all comment. Any speculation, precedent or trend having to do with presidential elections whatsoever can be negated by yelling "sample sizes!", considering there have only been a few dozen of them.

Sure, and most generalizations about past elections to apply them to future elections are stupid. This was a particularly stupid one, since it concocts a formula that apparently only applies to one of the two parties in the system even though the parties have changed extraordinarily in both their policy positions and voters over the period of time used for reference in making the generalization.