It’s time now for a fact-check of North Carolina politics.
This week we’re looking at who has power when the governor leaves the state. Gov. Roy Cooper last week announced he was pulling himself out of consideration to be Kamala Harris’ running mate on the Democratic ticket. In making the decision, Cooper reportedly said one reason was to prevent Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson from assuming control while Cooper was away campaigning.
For more, I’m joined now by Paul Specht of WRAL.
Marshall Terry: So in North Carolina, the governor and lieutenant governor don’t run on the same ticket, like president and vice president, and can be of different political parties, which is the case right now. What does the state constitution say exactly about what happens when the governor leaves the state or is incapacitated?
Paul Specht: Well, here's what the constitution says in North Carolina: During the absence of the governor from the state, or during the physical or mental incapacity of the governor to perform the duties of his office, the lieutenant governor shall be acting governor.
Terry: So what does that mean exactly? Could the acting governor issue executive orders or work with state lawmakers to quickly approve new laws? And since Republicans already have a veto-proof majority in the General Assembly, does it really make a difference who is in the governor's chair on a given day?
Specht: Let me answer that question in two parts.
First, this state law has not been tested, in part, because for the majority of the last century, the governor and lieutenant governor have come from the same party. They've been Democrats. No one has taken any extreme action or any controversial action that has tested this in court, so we're left with interpretations. Some people, including a long-time staffer at the legislature, told us this pretty clear cut, it says in the governor's absence from the state, the lieutenant governor shall be acting governor. He said, I don't see any way around it.
On the other side, including the governor's office, says this is antiquated. The mention of physical or mental incapacity suggests that this part of the constitution was written to apply only if the governor couldn't do his job. And now, obviously, we are in modern times where people can make calls and texts, even from their phones or from Japan — a place that Gov. Cooper has gone to talk about economic interests. He can still do his job from the other side of the world. We don't know how it would apply in the real world. Last year, Mark Robinson made a proclamation about supporting Israel while Cooper was out of state. But we haven't seen any executive orders or anything like that.
And then the second part of that answer is, you know, with a veto-proof majority, Republicans can do a lot. Now they don't always vote in unison. There have been issues that come up where they can't override the governor because there are Republicans in more moderate districts, and this is an election year, and so they don't get a veto overwritten because that's what requires a supermajority. The fact that it's an election year is also really important. Mark Robinson is the lieutenant governor, and he's running against Josh Stein, the attorney general, the Democrat. They're in the governor's race. They are both trying to appeal to the small sliver of unaffiliated swing voters who might not like it if the lieutenant governor steps up and takes some sort of controversial action while the governor is away. So does it matter? Pundits have looked at this. Strategists say there is not a high likelihood of, at least, Robinson this year taking significant action with Cooper out of state.
Terry: So as I said earlier, Cooper reportedly said one of the reasons he dropped out of being considered Kamala Harris’ running mate is that he was concerned about what Mark Robinson would do if he — Cooper — left the state to campaign with Harris. Was that a valid concern Cooper reportedly had?
Specht: It's hard to speak to, you know, what his concerns are. His office talked to us for this story, and they said they don't believe Robinson has legal power while he is gone. Does that mean he won't do it? Not necessarily. Does that mean Robinson won't take some sort of action? No, he could. Would it hold up in court? We don't know. Would it be politically wise? Members of his own party say no. If I were the governor, and a Democrat and I wanted a Democrat, Josh Stein, to win this election against Mark Robinson, I believe it would be in my political interest to play up Robinson's extreme views and things like that. So it doesn't surprise me that Cooper said that at the same time that his office is saying they don't believe Robinson has this power.
Terry: Has Mark Robinson ever done anything when he assumed the role of acting governor aside from that proclamation last fall you mentioned related to Israel?
Specht: To our knowledge, no. And that was mostly symbolic, you know. And speaking to some people, they say, hey, if Robinson even tried to do something of significance, it would take a lot of logistical work. Let's say it was a bill or an executive order; those things have to be notarized, you know, sort of — notarized may not be the right word — but signed off on and approved. I believe the secretary of state is involved in some of the governor's signatures. The secretary of state is a Democrat, that's Elaine Marshall. Would she participate in an effort like that? It seems doubtful.
