Democrats have landed one of their top recruits of the cycle.
Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper declared his candidacy for a U.S. Senate seat in the state, giving Democrats their top recruit in one of the marquee Senate races of the 2026 midterm elections.
“The decisions we make in the next election will determine if we even have a middle class in America anymore,” Cooper said in a video Monday on social media announcing his run. “I never really wanted to go to Washington. I just wanted to serve the people of North Carolina right here, where I’ve lived all my life. But these are not ordinary times.”
Cooper, who served four terms as attorney general and two terms as governor, is popular in the state. His decision to run is a major victory for Senate Democrats, who aggressively pitched him on running and believe Cooper’s candidacy and a favorable political environment could help them win a senate race in North Carolina for the first time in nearly two decades.
