Democrats are expected to get their top Senate recruit next week as former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper plans to enter the race, sources tell CNN.
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.
An announcement is expected soon.
Democrats see the North Carolina race as a top opportunity to flip a Republican seat. Sen. Thom Tillis pulled out of running for a third term after coming under heavy criticism from President Donald Trump for breaking with him most prominently over the Republican policy bill signed earlier this month.
The news of Cooper’s entry was first reported by Axios. Morgan Jackson, a longtime Cooper political adviser, told CNN he would not confirm the story but said Cooper would be making his intentions known in the coming days.
Cooper is expected to appear and speak at Saturday’s Democratic Unity Dinner, a major state party fundraising event, in Raleigh. Multiple sources tell CNN he will not make an announcement then.
Wiley Nickel, a former Democratic congressman, is already in the race.
Republicans have been searching for a candidate of their own since Tillis announced he would not run. Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law and a North Carolina native who currently lives in Florida, is considering a bid for the Republican nomination.
Cooper was asked by Kamala Harris’s aides to be one of the running mate options she considered last year, but opted not to participate. He has long been sought by Democrats as a Senate candidate but passed on several other recruitment efforts.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
