Roy Cooper seeks North Carolina U.S. Senate seat

Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is running as a Democrat for U.S. Senate in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election.

Cooper, who served as governor from 2017 to 2025, said he is running to "make stuff cost less," according to WLOS. He said the price of groceries, rent, utilities and health care are skyrocketing and that Washington is making it worse. Other candidates in the race are Michael D. Whatley (Republican), Michael Dublin (Green) and Shannon W. Bray (Libertarian), according to BallotReady election data.

Candidate information

Party: Democratic
Office sought: U.S. Senate, North Carolina
Education: Bachelor's degree and juris doctor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Hometown: Born and raised in Nash County, North Carolina, where he attended public schools and worked summers on the farm, according to his campaign website
Family: Cooper and his wife Kristin raised three daughters in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, according to his campaign website

Experience and public service

Cooper practiced law in Rocky Mount for 18 years, representing everyday people and small businesses, according to his campaign website. He served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 1987 to 1991 and in the North Carolina State Senate from 1991 to 2001, according to his campaign website. He served as North Carolina attorney general from 2000 to 2016 and as governor from 2017 to 2025, according to BallotReady.

While serving in the legislature, Cooper said he wrote North Carolina's first children's health insurance initiative, according to his campaign website.

On the issues

Economy and cost of living: Cooper called tariffs "chaotic and irrational" and said they were increasing costs for farmers, with those costs passed on to consumers, according to the Wilmington Star-News. He said he would vote to roll back tariffs. Cooper also unveiled a plan to lower childcare costs, including investing in higher wages and apprenticeships for childcare workers, cutting red tape for childcare facilities and expanding the Child Care and Dependent Tax Credit. "It's costing our economy billions of dollars when parents cannot afford to go into the workforce," Cooper said, according to the Star-News.

Health care: Cooper said affordable health care in North Carolina is at risk due to attacks on Medicaid and Medicare, the expiration of Affordable Care Act subsidies and what he called greedy insurance companies, according to WLOS. He said he would fight in Washington to keep health care affordable. As governor, Cooper said he reached a bipartisan agreement to expand Medicaid, which by early 2025 had brought health care to more than 650,000 North Carolinians, according to his campaign website. He also said he enacted a plan to incentivize hospitals to relieve more than $4 billion of existing medical debt for 2 million eligible North Carolinians and prevent new debt.

Disaster relief: Cooper said he wants to "recreate FEMA, because clearly, it has been almost destroyed," according to WLOS. The agency is critical, he said.

Governance: Cooper said he would be "a tough, independent Senator" who would work with the president when he can, stand up to him when needed and stand up to leaders in his own party when he thinks they are wrong, according to WLOS.