Senate Democrats buoyed by Cooper's decision to run
Why it matters: Democrats have their candidate. Republicans are still looking for theirs. Both sides will have plenty of money.
"It's always the most expensive race in U.S. history. It will be again," Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said at an Axios Live event on Wednesday.
But the outgoing senator has some frank advice for his party after its 2024 gubernatorial candidate, Mark Robinson, ran a disastrous campaign.
"Let that embarrassment be a lesson to the base who didn't understand" that Robinson could not win in a general election, Tillis said.
Driving the news: Cooper is expected to make a formal announcement Monday, but the news, which Axios scooped Wednesday afternoon, ricocheted across town.
For a party that has been rolled on policy all year, Democrats are heading into August hopeful that the politics may be cutting in their direction.
The other side: Republicans are still waiting for their top nominee to emerge, with all eyes on the president's daughter-in-law Lara Trump.
Tillis declined to say whether he would be willing to campaign with Lara Trump but stressed the importance of choosing a candidate who can appeal to the swing voters or "we're going to have a tough time."
The ability to raise money will also be a factor: "You have to have a national fundraising platform that's going to match up against the Democrats, who invariably raise — it's usually about a 60-40 split," Tillis said.
What they are saying:"Roy Cooper is about to join a very long list of Democrat governors who tried and failed to be elected to the United States Senate," NRSC spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez told Axios in a statement.
"Chuck Schumer might be celebrating, but North Carolinians are still reeling from Roy Cooper's botched response to Hurricane Helene," Alex Latcham, executive director of the Senate Leadership Fund, said in a statement. SLF is expected to spend massive amounts on the race.
Go deeper: The 2026 Senate map appears relatively small and will likely include just a handful of truly competitive races.
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