Roy Cooper could actually be the big winner of 2023
As his power wanes, Gov. Cooper is winning the long game. His top policy priority has already been achieved, and his top political one is in reach.
On paper, it looks like Gov. Roy Cooper is having a terrible 2023.
For the first time this decade, the governor faces a Republican supermajority in the General Assembly. He just lost his first big veto fight, and that razor-thin margin appears set to hold on a series of other bills the governor would rather not see become law.
Cooper can no longer count on a Democrat-run state Supreme Court to strike down laws he doesn't like, and electoral maps are about to be redrawn with no chance for a veto. His hand-picked state party chairwoman also lost to an upstart 25-year-old.
Yes, after four years atop the list, Cooper is no longer the most powerful person in North Carolina politics. But the real story is more complicated than that.
You could even argue that this year has been the most successful of Cooper's tenure, by far.
Although Cooper's power has significantly diminished, the lame-duck governor of North Carolina is wrapping up his term by accomplishing his administration's biggest goals.
