Roy Cooper’s greatest advantage as he runs for Senate may also be the strongest argument against him — North Carolinians already know him and his record.
Cooper has held elected office since Ronald Reagan was president, starting with his election to the North Carolina state House in 1986. In the time since, he served in the state Senate, spent 16 years as attorney general, and another eight as governor.
Time and again, on issues ranging from crime policy and immigration enforcement to taxes, and disaster relief, Cooper has shown North Carolinians where his priorities lie — and it’s not with them.
Yet, as he now runs for Senate against Republican Michael Whatley, Cooper wants voters to believe that once he makes it to D.C., he’ll start prioritizing his constituents.
When Cooper left the office of governor in 2025, North Carolinians paid the highest healthcare costs in the nation, and the Tar Heel state saw a 183% increase in premium rates during Cooper’s tenure as attorney general and governor. North Carolinians also saw an 85% increase in home prices around that time. And when it comes to energy, Gov. Josh Stein (D-NC), who was Cooper’s attorney general, admitted prices rose significantly during Cooper’s time in office — to the tune of 30% between 2017 and 2024, years that largely overlapped with Cooper’s time as governor.
Cooper spent his years in authority not only making things cost more for North Carolinians but also consistently choosing criminals over his own taxpayers.
“That guy will fight for criminals. That guy has fought for illegal aliens,” Whatley told the Wall Street Journal of Cooper. “That is not North Carolina’s vision for common sense.”
In 2021, Cooper signed on to a little-known agreement with several civil rights groups that facilitated the release of 3,500 convicts. After their release, more than 600 of those criminals committed felonies, including homicides, sex offenses, or other violent crimes. The New York Post reported that 18 of those were charged with murder.
Cooper also released close to 500 illegal immigrants from prison, including a number of rapists and murderers. He later vetoed three bills that would require state sheriffs to cooperate with ICE’s efforts.
And Cooper is just as in favor of filling the streets with violent criminals as he is of filling women’s sports with biological males. In 2023, Cooper vetoed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, a bill that would protect women’s sports, prohibiting biological males from competing against females, even as 80% of voters oppose men competing in women’s sports.
Not only was Cooper unwilling to protect women in sports, but he failed to rescue North Carolinians when natural disasters struck.
After Hurricane Florence devastated North Carolina in 2018, Cooper’s administration created the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency to simplify the long process of rebuilding homes and helping families recover from storms.
But in 2025, the state auditor found that NCORR’s Homeowner Recovery Program accrued a $297 million shortfall requiring emergency state funds. And while the program failed financially, it also failed in providing for those it aimed to serve, as many families spent more than 1,400 days in temporary housing.
Cooper made similar mistakes after Hurricane Helene in 2024. Weeks after Hurricane Helene hit North Carolina in September 2024, Cooper chose to praise the Biden administration’s “massive, unprecedented response.” In reality, it took over a week for federal troops and equipment to reach North Carolinians harmed by the storm and begin disaster relief efforts.
Meanwhile, Whatley, although he has never held elected office, has spent years working to provide tax relief and minimize government spending to save voters money, and looks to do the same in Washington.
Whatley also pushed several conservative North Carolina General Assembly and congressional candidates to victory. While serving as chairman of the Republican National Committee, he helped enact priorities that saved taxpayers money while keeping North Carolinians safe, and worked to minimize regulations for North Carolina business owners.
Unlike Cooper, Whatley has advocated for crime policies that keep criminals in jail, along with other legislation that eliminates taxes on tips and overtime pay, while opposing taxpayer-funded healthcare and Social Security benefits for illegal immigrants that only spike costs for working taxpayers.
I SAW AMERICA’S COVID RESPONSE UP CLOSE. ROY COOPER FAILED NORTH CAROLINA
Whatley now has a chance to work for the voters and enact more policies similar to the ones he’s already endorsed before ever holding public office. He’s shown North Carolinians he’d be a fighter for them in Washington. Cooper, meanwhile, has four decades of public service behind him and little to show for it.
“Ultimately, this race in North Carolina is going to come down to who you are going to fight for,” Whatley said. “I’m going to fight for families, I’m going to fight for communities, and I’m going to fight for North Carolina values — and Roy Cooper is not.”
Tayte Christensen is a published writer and investigative journalist. Her work has been featured in national publications, including The Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller and Townhall. She is from Bentonville, AR and graduated from Hillsdale College.