Former NC Governor Roy Cooper appears to announce Senate run

RALEIGH, N.C. – Former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper appears to be running for Senate. The former governor addressed the elephant in the room at the NC Democrats Unity Dinner in Raleigh Saturday evening. Cooper did not plainly state that he would be running, instead he joked that he would be running for office.

“Everybody who is planning to run for office next year, please stand up. Stand up guys! Let’s give them all a big hand,” Cooper said, while looking around the room, “Hey, I’m not sitting down, am I?” he said with a smile.

Cooper served as Governor of North Carolina from 2017 to 2025. Current Senator, Republican Thom Tillis announced in June that he would not seek a third term in office. The last NC Democrat to hold one of the U.S. was Kay Hagan back in 2015.