Former NC Gov Roy Cooper kicks off US Senate campaign with pledge to ‘make stuff cost less’ ...Middle East

Former Gov. Roy Cooper centered his general election kickoff event in Raleigh on March 4, 2026 on policies he said would make food and grocery prices more affordable. (Photo: Brandon Kingdollar/NC Newsline)

Former Gov. Roy Cooper, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, kicked off his general election bid Wednesday on a message of affordability.

“I know how hard it’s going to be to work in Congress to get something passed, but I believe when people rise up and say they want this, we can get it done,” Cooper told a small crowd of supporters at a Raleigh brewery. “I’ve got a track record of being able to put party aside to lower costs and get results for everyday people.”

Cooper’s campaign tour of the state comes a day after the former governor’s decisive victory in the Democratic primary election, which he won with 92% of the vote, according to the unofficial tally by the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

“Most everywhere I go, folks are telling me that they are getting squeezed at the grocery store,” he said. “I think North Carolina families have had enough, and they’re going to tell us at the ballot box come November.”

He outlined four policy goals to help reduce the price of food and groceries: opposing the Trump administration’s tariffs, working to block corporate mergers of grocery chains, banning algorithmic pricing that raises costs for individual customers, and barring food companies from using software to coordinate prices.

“These corporations try to hit consumers from every angle, and that includes using your personal data to charge different people different prices, squeeze every penny out of consumers,” Cooper said. “I will fight to pass legislation that bans these practices and puts money back in your pockets.”

He took aim at his opponent, Republican nominee Michael Whatley, for backing the Trump administration’s economic policies. “Look, I will vote to roll back the tariffs. Michael Whatley won’t,” Cooper said.

“How out of touch is Michael Whatley?” Cooper said. “You’ve heard about prices going up. Well, Michael Whatley says that prices are going down.”

A spokesman for Whatley declined to comment on Cooper’s remarks. Whatley, who held his own launch event on Wednesday afternoon in Charlotte focused on public safety issues. He has also made the economy a major pillar of his pitch to voters, though he has said that President Donald Trump’s agenda is already delivering affordability.

“What we need to do is make sure that we have an economy that’s working for everybody,” Whatley told reporters at a Trump rally in Rocky Mount last December. “We need to get more jobs, we need higher wages, and we need those lower prices.”

Whatley said in December that gas and energy prices had fallen significantly since Trump’s return to office, but claimed that the Biden administration’s policies had done too much economic damage to overcome quickly.

“Joe Biden and his inflation left us in an absolute ditch,” Whatley said at the December event. “It is going to take some time to get all that done, but the movement that we have seen over the course of the last 11 months is absolutely significant.”

Whatley’s campaign website does not include his policy platform, but credits him with implementing the first Trump administration’s farm and energy policies, leading to lower energy prices and bolstering rural economies.

Cooper’s campaign kickoff on Wednesday included two speakers who said the Trump economy is not working for them.

Pender Sharp, a Wilson County tobacco farmer, said the Trump administration’s tariffs have imposed a major financial burden on farmers. He said he supports the former governor because “Roy is a person that understands the needs of farmers and people of North Carolina.”

“Never in my history as a farmer have I seen so many wrong decisions coming out of Washington,” Sharp said. “The federal government needs to do more for farmers and stop holding us hostage with chaotic, erratic tariffs and economic policy.”

Stephanie Walker, a mother of two living in Raleigh, said the cost of groceries has made shopping a “daunting chore” of clipping coupons and comparing prices across various apps, especially when buying for a husband and son who have dietary restrictions.

“It’s a not-so-fun scavenger hunt of going to two, maybe three stores to find the necessities at a somewhat affordable rate,” Walker said. “What I can’t wrap my head around is how my receipt is getting smaller, but the price tag is continuing to get bigger.”

Speaking to members of the media after the event, Cooper said he believes his bipartisan experience will help him pass impactful legislation even in a closely divided Congress.

“I believe in the last two years of this president’s term, there will be a number of Republicans who’ve gotten reelected who want to take back constitutional authority, particularly trade and tariffs, because I think many Republicans and Democrats see this as a major cost driver for small businesses and consumers,” Cooper said.

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