This is the best opportunity so far for Democrats to flip a Senate seat in 2026:
Senate Democrats received a massive shot in the arm on Monday as former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) announced he is a go for the state’s high-stakes Senate race, delivering the party its biggest recruiting victory of the cycle and the hope that it could lead to more in the coming months.
Speculation surrounding a possible Cooper bid hit a fever pitch in recent weeks after Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) announced that he would not be running for reelection.
Cooper made the news official on Monday morning, becoming the biggest recruiting win of the 2026 cycle to date for either side and marking an opening salvo for a party that has struggled throughout the year to respond to President Trump.
“It’s big,” said Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), who ran the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) during the 2022 and 2024 cycles. “It’s a huge win. We’re confident he’s going to win. He is without question the strongest Democrat that could possibly run in that seat.”
The two-term governor has held high favorable ratings in the Tar Heel State throughout his two terms and at the end of his tenure in Raleigh. He has also won all six of his statewide bids, which Democrats are quick to note.
The race is shaping up to be Cooper versus Michael Whatley, the chairman of the Republican National Committee and former North Carolina GOP chair. Trump endorsed Whatley after his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, decided against a run...
Being from a deeply divided swing state, his announcement video is awash with earnest "I- worked- with- Republicans" and "those politicians in Washington"- type gab, meant to appeal to people who like to think there's still a sane Republican party that can be reasoned and partnered with. Cooper knows better from his own experience dealing with a Republican- led legislature that tried to cut him off at the knees at every opportunity. But, if that's what sells in North Carolina, so be it. It's a race Democrats need to win.
Here's his announcement video:
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