Former NC Gov. Roy Cooper expected to announce he’s entering US Senate race
North Carolina’s wait for whether former Gov. Roy Cooper plans to run for Senate will soon be over.
Cooper is expected to announce his run for U.S. Senate on Monday, according to multiple news outlets.
Morgan Jackson, Cooper’s adviser told McClatchy on Wednesday that “Governor Cooper would be making his intentions (on the Senate race) known in the coming days.”
But Jackson is not commenting on any of the reports coming out about Cooper’s timing or the specifics of his announcement.
Gov. Josh Stein, Cooper’s successor, did not comment, while touring the Coca-Cola Consolidated bottling facility in Charlotte, on whether Cooper was running but did comment on his thoughts about him as a candidate.
“I think the world of Roy Cooper,” Stein said. “I think he is an amazing person as well as public official. So there is one North Carolina voter who would be thrilled to be able to cast his vote for him. “
A Senate run for Cooper has been long anticipated, even as 2024 presidential candidate Kamala Harris mulled choosing Cooper as her running mate last summer, a decision Cooper ultimately made for her.
The 2026 Senate race is expected to be one of the most expensive in the country and closely watched as the swing state of North Carolina could help determine whether Republicans maintain the majority.
Axios first reported Wednesday afternoon that Cooper plans to announce his run next week, attributing its story to multiple unnamed sources.
Jackson told McClatchy that he would not confirm Axios’ reporting.
Thom Tillis not seeking a third term
Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from Huntersville, announced he would not seek reelection for a third term.
That announcement caught Republicans by surprise in June after Tillis had already been campaigning for six months. Tillis got into a feud with Republicans over President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, that fulfilled several of his campaign promises.
But Tillis worried that it would cost 663,000 North Carolinians their Medicaid coverage.
He said at an event in Washington Wednesday he felt so strongly about this concern that he wanted to remove his campaign as a bargaining chip in trying to get a fix to that part of the bill.
Other possible Senate candidates
Now Republicans are weighing names like the president’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump, Michael Whatley, the chairman of the Republican National Committee or Rep. Pat Harrigan to run instead.
So far, retired businessman Andy Nilsson and former JAG officer Don Brown have declared themselves candidates in the Republican primary. Filing isn’t until Dec. 1.
On the Democratic side, former Rep. Wiley Nickel declared he would run.
Roy Cooper’s political career
Cooper ran in every election since the late 1980s, and unlike Nickel has faced multiple statewide races, including attorney general and governor.
He has statewide name recognition that was amplified as he led North Carolina through the COVID-19 pandemic and worked with Republicans to achieve Medicaid expansion.
He also served as surrogate for Harris’ campaign and introduced her at the Democratic National Convention.
Cooper, after serving two terms as governor, was unable to run again due to the state’s term limit.
He’s spent the last seven months away from politics and spent the spring at Harvard University.
Mary Ramsey contributed to this report.
This story was originally published July 23, 2025 at 2:44 PM.
