Roy Cooper, former NC Governor announces he is running for Senate in 2026
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Roy Cooper is jumping back into politics.
The former Democratic governor of North Carolina will run for Senate in 2026.
He made the announcement on X Monday morning, saying, "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, who was term-limited after finishing eight years as governor at the end of 2024, is widely popular in the state and has never lost a race over more than 30 years in state politics -- for state Senate, attorney general, and governor. He won most of those races in years when Republicans carried the state in presidential elections.
"Right now, our country's facing a moment as fragile as any I can remember," Cooper said. "And the decisions we make in the next election will determine if we even have a middle class in America anymore. I've never really wanted to go to Washington. I've just wanted to serve the people of North Carolina all my life. But these are not ordinary times."
The decision comes after Republican Sen. Thom Tillis announced that he would not seek a third term.
Without Tillis on the ballot, Republicans selected RNC Chair Michael Whatley to try to hold onto their slim majority in the Senate. Lara Trump, the president's daughter-in-law and a North Carolina native who lives in Florida, was being talked about as a nominee, but decided not to run.
According to our newsgathering partners at the News and Observer, the 2026 Senate race is expected to be one of the most expensive in the country.
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Political expert Mitch Kokai told ABC11 that Cooper's success as former North Carolina attorney general and as former governor could position him well for a seat in Washington.
"All of the people within the Democratic Party who are leaders and insiders wanted him to do it because they look at a guy who's won six statewide elections has had very good support, not only from Democrats, but also from unaffiliated voters and even from some Republicans and said this is the guy who's going to win is the Senate seat," Kokai said.
Cooper was also asked by former Vice President Kamala Harris' aides to be one of the running mate options she considered last year, but he opted not to participate. He has long been sought by Democrats as a Senate candidate but passed on several other recruitment efforts.
The Harris Victory Fund, Harris' joint fundraising committee with the DNC, is asking for donations to support the DNC and Cooper's just-announced Senate bid in North Carolina, per an email sent to supporters. In the appeal, Harris' team writes that "winning North Carolina is essential" to flipping the Senate.
"I think this now confirms to Whatley that whatever he and his team thought they would have to come up with to beat Roy Cooper, they now know this is the person we're going to run against," Kokai said. "There is no stronger Democratic candidate in North Carolina than Roy Cooper."
Meanwhile, the North Carolina Republican Party responded to Cooper's announcement, saying, in part, "North Carolinians have had enough of radicals like Roy Cooper who make their living off the taxpayers while supporting policies which make life unaffordable for families. He will not be our next U.S. senator."
During a one-on-one interview with ABC11's Steve Daniels in December and six months before Tillis dropped out, Cooper acknowledged he may launch a campaign to become the Democratic nominee in the U.S. Senate race in 2026. You can watch the full interview below.
WATCH: Cooper reflects on nearly 40 years in NC politics as term winds down
The last North Carolina Democrat to be elected to the U.S. Senate was Kay Hagan, who served from 2009-2015. She lost her reelection bid in 2014 to Tillis. Hagan died of encephalitis in 2019
