Ex-North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper to run for Senate in 2026
July 28 (UPI) -- Democrat and former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper on Monday announced that he is running for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Thom Tillis, who won't seek re-election in 2026.
Cooper, 68, revealed his plans in a video on his website and social media.
On June 29, Tillis, 64, announced he wouldn't seek a third six-year term, after receiving backlash in voting against President Donald Trump's big spending bill.
"I have thought on it and prayed about it, and I have decided: I am running to be the next U.S. Senator from North Carolina,'' Cooper, 68, said.
Cooper served eight years and was term-limited in 2024.
Previously, he was attorney general, in which he said he "took on scammers, big banks and drug companies" while avoiding social issues. Cooper, who received an undergraduate and law degrees from the University of North Carolina, served four terms as attorney general from 2001 to 2017.
He was elected to the North Carolina House and Senate from 1987 to 2001.
I have thought on it and prayed about it, and I have decided: I am running to be the next U.S. Senator from North Carolina. pic.twitter.com/jXvuioO1T0— Roy Cooper (@RoyCooperNC) July 28, 2025
"I never really wanted to go to Washington," Cooper said in the video. "I just wanted to serve the people of North Carolina, right here where I've lived all my life. But these are not ordinary times."
His announcement focused on the middle class.
"For too many Americans, the middle class feels like a distant dream," he said. "Meanwhile, the biggest corporations and the richest Americans have grabbed unimaginable wealth at your expense. I'm running for Senate because it's time for that to change."
Cooper, the son of a small-town lawyer and farmer, said it didn't used to be that way.
"It wasn't always this hard, because being in the middle class meant something," he said. "You could afford a home, your kids went to good schools, your job paid enough to cover the basics, and most summers, you could get away for a few days. For the most part, life was pretty good."
Republican National Committee Chairman Whatley has been endorsed by Trump for the seat and is expected to shortly announce a run. Lara Trump, a North Carolina native and Trump's daughter-in-law, said last month she wouldn't seek the seat.
Democrats hope to pick up seats in the U.S. Senate, which is currently controlled by the GOP 53-47.
Thirty-three of the 100 seats will be up for election, along with special elections for two others: JD Vance's seat in Ohio and Marco Rubio's in Florida, both now held by Republican replacements.
Of those, 22 are held by Republicans and 13 by Democrats.
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