Former Gov. Roy Cooper says Senate run spurred by battle for health care access
His announcement comes weeks after Republican Sen. Thom Tillis announced he would not seek re-election.
'I've thought on it and prayed about it, and I've decided I want to serve as your next United States senator,' Cooper said in the two-minute video posted to X.
Roy Cooper entrance gives Democrats hope more Senate recruiting wins are on the way
Cooper said he is entering the race with a goal of fixing a growing wealth disparity and protecting access to Medicare and Medicaid.
He added that he had no prior plans to go to Washington, but that his plans changed after he said those problems came to the forefront.
With Cooper in and Trump-backed RNC Chair Michael Whatley expected to run, experts are predicting more than $100 million to be spent on messaging over the course of the campaign.
RELATED: RNC Chair Michael Whatley to run for Senate seat
'It's going to be massive, massive, massive sums of money. And I think that was going to be true no matter who the candidates were. You put a name like Roy Cooper in there, and it is just going to expand that, and somebody with the connections of Michael Whatley, same thing,' said Chris Cooper with Western Carolina University.
While Whatley does have President Trump's endorsement, it is still unknown when Michael Whatley will officially announce his candidacy.
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