Former Governor Roy Cooper teased his upcoming Senate run at a Democratic fundraising dinner Saturday evening. (Photo: Brandon Kingdollar/NC Newsline)
In his first public event after news of his impending Senate campaign broke, former Governor Roy Cooper asked everyone in the audience planning to run for office in 2026 to please stand for a round of applause.
Glancing at his feet with a grin, he quipped, “Hey — I’m not sitting down, am I?”
Previewing his run for Senate in a speech before North Carolina Democratic Party leaders and supporters Saturday night, days ahead of an expected campaign announcement, Cooper was met with a standing ovation and cheers of “Run Roy, run!”
“Look at what’s happening in Washington — they are running up our debt, they are disrespecting our veterans, they’re cutting help for the hungry, and they’re ripping away with health care for millions of people,” Cooper said. “All to give tax breaks to the millionaires and the billionaires, and it’s not right.”
Cooper is expected to declare his candidacy for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) next week, a development first reported by Axios on Wednesday. He would be vying to become the state’s first Democratic senator in more than a decade, with the party’s last Senate victory coming in 2008 when President Barack Obama won the state.
Tallying up his resume at the party’s annual Unity Dinner, Cooper expressed pride in passing Medicaid expansion and expanding coverage to more than 675,000 people, raising pay for public school teachers, eliminating billions in medical debt for North Carolinians, and taking a stand against a 12-week abortion ban that Republicans ultimately passed over his veto.
“Right now, we’re living in a time in this country, I think, that is as fragile as I can remember,” Cooper said. But this beautiful experiment we call democracy — it only works when we work for it, which means that everybody needs to stay engaged and find a way to do something. We cannot let our progress slip away.”
The popular two-term governor is expected to compete in the general election against Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley, who is also anticipated to declare as a candidate in the days to come, as first reported by POLITICO Thursday. This follows Tillis’s announcement that he would not seek reelection after voting against Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” citing cuts to Medicaid.
Cooper is poised to be a formidable candidate for Senate, after departing office at the end of 2024 with broad popularity. A March 6 survey of 662 voters by Public Policy Polling found that 47% of held a favorable view of the former governor, while 42% held an unfavorable view — a net favorability rating 28 points better than that of Tillis, who the poll found Cooper leading in a hypothetical match-up 47% to 43%. Pollsters have yet to publish surveys of a prospective Cooper-Whatley matchup.
On Saturday night, Cooper followed state Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls, also running in 2026, and preceded Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who is widely expected to seek the presidency in 2028. His fellow Democrats ranged from similarly coy about his plans to openly delighted at his imminent entry into the race.
Among the most upfront was Earls, who introduced him as “Governor and we hope soon-to-be Senator Roy Cooper” to rousing cheers.
Among those praising former Governor Roy Cooper at Saturday’s dinner were state party chair Anderson Clayton and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. “We can’t wait to support you in the next stage of your career,” said Pritzker. (Photo: Brandon Kingdollar/NC Newsline)“He knows this state and how to get things done in difficult times,” she said. “His passion for the well-being of every North Carolina is evident in all of his accomplishments, most recently persevering in the quest to extend Medicaid, resulting in healthcare coverage now for more than 650,000 additional people.”
“The top of the ticket matters tremendously to my race, and you can tell from the enthusiasm in this room that he is someone that the party across North Carolina would be thrilled to have as our candidate,” Earls told reporters after the speeches.
Pritzker, the keynote speaker, said serving alongside Cooper as a governor during the first Trump administration gave him a “true master class in the humility and integrity that marks the best of public service.”
“Roy, I know I speak for Democratic governors across the country when I say: we can’t wait to support you in the next stage of your career delivering for the people of North Carolina,” Pritzker said, applauding the former governor.
“I’m excited. North Carolina Democrats are ready to put a Democrat in the Senate office next year, making sure that we’re representing everybody in North Carolina,” state party chair Anderson Clayton said after the dinner. “I think tonight, Governor Cooper alluded to the fact that he’s excited to be able to put somebody in that same office and do the same thing.”
The enthusiasm reflects a party that had all but lined up to support Cooper before the candidate even made his plans public. Attorney General Jeff Jackson, who gave remarks in private to a VIP Reception preceding the dinner, made headlines earlier this month when he endorsed Cooper for Senate before the former governor entered the race. Former U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel, the first Democratic entrant in the Senate race, is expected to drop out and run for Wake County District Attorney with Cooper’s announcement.
In some of his most extensive remarks in his seven months out of office, Cooper returned the praise, singling out Pritzker, Earls, and his successor in office. “I’m sleeping really well at night knowing we have Governor Josh Stein leading the charge for our state,” he said.
“Despite all the turmoil and cruelty — because of people of people like you here tonight, I still believe that our best days are ahead of us,” Cooper said.
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