Roy Cooper speaks to NC Democrats during annual Unity Dinner ahead of likely 2026 Senate run

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- At the North Carolina Democratic Party's annual Unity Dinner fundraiser, former Governor Roy Cooper made strong hints to Democrats about his likely plans for an imminent run for U.S. Senate in 2026.

Asking everyone who was running for office next year to stand up, Cooper said, "I'm not sitting down, am I?" as the crowd cheered.

That not-so-subtle hint, along with Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls introducing Cooper as "hopefully our next Senator," was sounding like a campaign speech.

Ahead of a Senate run, Cooper attacked Republicans in Congress.

"They are running up our debt, they are disrespecting veterans, they're cutting help for the hungry, and they're ripping away healthcare for millions of people all to give tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires, and it's not right," Cooper told the crowd.

The almost-announcement is getting praise from national leaders, including the headlining speaker, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.

"We can't wait to support you in the next stage of your career, delivering for the people of North Carolina," Pritzker said.

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And locally, Democrats believe they landed their best chance to win a Senate seat in North Carolina for the first time since 2008.

"If you ask me off the record, it's the best news I could have gotten," NC House Democratic leader Robert Rieves said about the almost-announcement.

But as soon as the crowd announced their support for a Senate hopeful, the NCGOP fired back on social media, saying simply, "Keep Hoping."

With GOP incumbent Thom Tillis not running for re-election, President Trump is endorsing RNC Chair Michael Whatley among the GOP contenders for the seat.

Republicans are also taking aim at Cooper, in a statement, calling Cooper "a 40-year career politician who has never stood up to the Democrat establishment." The NCGOP went on to say "Democrats in the state have veered so far left they've lost hundreds of thousands of voters. Republicans will win this Senate race in the 2026 election because we stand for family first, America first, common sense values."

A potential Cooper-Whatley race is shaping up to be one of the most important and expensive races in the country, and party leaders are already gearing up.

"What I think will be different is that national Democrats will invest in North Carolina this year like they have not done in previous cycles to make sure we are a competitive battleground state because the only way back to the Senate and House runs right through North Carolina," NC Democratic Party chair Anderson Clayton told ABC11.

Former Congressman Wiley Nickel had previously announced he was running for Senate as a Democrat, but suspended his campaign to endorse Cooper.