By Adam Wagner
NC Newsroom
Former Gov. Roy Cooper is officially running for U.S. Senate.
"I've had enough. I've thought on it and prayed about it, and I've decided: I want to serve as your next United States senator because even now I still believe our next days are ahead of us," Cooper said in a video released by the campaign.
Cooper is running for the seat currently held by Republican Thom Tillis, who is not seeking re-election. The seat is widely expected to be one of the most competitive in the 2026 cycle.
A Nash County native and two-term governor, Cooper also served four terms as North Carolina's attorney general.
The announcement video indicates that Cooper's campaign would focus initially on affordability and health insurance. During Cooper's second term as governor, North Carolina legislators agreed to expand Medicaid to about 670,000 North Carolinians, an effort Cooper had long supported.
"The decisions we make in the next election will determine if we even have a middle class in America anymore," Cooper said.
Cooper's remarks in the ad were very similar to the ones he made Saturday night at the N.C. Democratic Party's Unity Dinner, where he teased that the formal announcement was imminent. In that speech, Cooper said that politicians in Washington are more focused on serving billionaires than typical Americans.
"They are running up our debt, they are disrespecting our veterans, they are cutting help for the hungry and they’re ripping away healthcare from millions of people, all to give tax breaks to the millionaires and billionaires. And it's not right," Cooper said Saturday.
GOP response
Republicans were quick to attack Cooper, with messages beginning within moments of the long-anticipated announcement.
The Senate Leadership Fund, a political action committee focused on electing Republicans, called Cooper "Radical Roy" in a press release that indicated attacks on Cooper's record could focus on disaster recovery and transgender issues.
"Chuck Schumer might be celebrating, but North Carolinians are still reeling from extreme liberal Roy Cooper’s botched response to Hurricane Helene that left over 100 people dead, his pardons of violent criminals, and his vetoes that allowed boys in girls’ sports and forced higher taxes on working families," Alex Latham, the Senate Leadership Fund's executive director, wrote in a press release.
There are three announced Republicans in the race. Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, a North Carolina native who helped Donald Trump win the state's electoral college votes twice while chairing the state Republican Party, is expected to enter the race. Whatley would have President Donald Trump's support, Trump wrote in a social media post last week.