Gov. Cooper’s State of the State is Monday. The rebuttal won’t be by the expected GOP leader
Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper will give his State of the State speech on Monday night before a joint session of the General Assembly. Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson will give the Republican rebuttal.
The speech takes place every two years, and the state House and Senate have taken turns giving the response. This time, it’s the Senate’s turn. However, instead of Senate leader Phil Berger, the Eden Republican who serves as president pro tempore of the Senate, it will be Robinson, who as lieutenant governor is also the president of the Senate.
In a statement Thursday morning, Robinson said it is “my honor to represent Republicans in the upcoming response to Governor Cooper’s State of the State Address. I look forward to highlighting the great work we have done for the people of North Carolina, and the vision we have moving forward.”
Robinson has long been publicly mulling a run for governor. Having Robinson speak for Senate Republicans, and the Republican majority in the legislature, would mean that he is giving the official response for all of them, signaling party support for a gubernatorial run.
The lieutenant governor, as president of the Senate, may preside over any session but only votes if there is a tie.
Robinson has been a lightning rod of controversy, from making anti-LGBTQ comments to making a joke about former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband being attacked.
Berger told reporters on Wednesday he wasn’t giving the response. Asked if Robinson would, Berger said, “I’ll let somebody else make that announcement.” The News & Observer had attempted to reach Robinson on Wednesday through his spokesperson and at his office in the Legislative Building.
Berger said he has given the Senate response since he became president pro tem.
State of the State
The House will convene Monday at 6 p.m., and the Senate will convene at 6:30 p.m. before all senators walk to the House chamber for the event. It is often mostly pomp and circumstance, as the N.C. Supreme Court and Council of State also attend.
As in previous years, the response will be recorded ahead of time. It will air on the PBS livestream a minute after Cooper is done speaking.
Cooper’s last State of the State was in April 2021. A statewide mask mandate was still in place, and much of Cooper’s speech was about the resiliency of North Carolinians during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also talked about teacher pay and Medicaid expansion, which are key issues again this year. Cooper also called for common ground with the opposing party, as did House Speaker Tim Moore, who gave the rebuttal speech.
Cooper is in his second term and can’t run again in 2024. Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat, has already declared his candidacy and is the expected Democratic pick in the primary.
This story was originally published March 1, 2023 at 5:47 PM with the headline "Gov. Cooper’s State of the State is Monday. The rebuttal won’t be by the expected GOP leader."
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