RALEIGH, N.C. — Former Gov. Roy Cooper used a Thursday night campaign stop to press his message on everyday costs and to warn supporters not to coast through the final stretch of North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race.
Cooper, the Democratic nominee for the open seat, spoke to roughly 150 people at First Presbyterian Church downtown on a statewide tour built around the slogan Make Stuff Cost Less. He urged the crowd to have a plan to vote, with 12 days left before the Nov. 3 election, and told reporters afterward that early-voting trends can shift as Election Day nears.
In his remarks and comments to reporters, Cooper said that as a senator he would work to roll back tariffs, end the war with Iran and restore Affordable Care Act tax credits, along with capping yearly out-of-pocket prescription drug costs. He also said he would push to overturn the Citizens United ruling on campaign spending and said most donations to his campaign are under $100.
Cooper went after Republican Michael Whatley, who previously led both the national and state Republican parties, casting him as a former energy industry lobbyist who is running at President Donald Trump’s request. Whatley worked at a lobbying firm on oil and gas issues from 2007 to 2022. His campaign did not respond to requests for comment on Cooper’s remarks.
State Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls, a Democrat also on the ballot this year, joined Cooper and pointed to the 2024 court race decided by 734 votes as proof that turnout matters.
Cooper, who served two terms as governor after four as attorney general, has led Whatley in public polling for months. More than 1.1 million North Carolinians had voted in the first week of early voting.
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