Democrat candidate for U.S. Senate in North Carolina. Every point on this page links to its source. We don't grade candidates or tell you how to vote. As of 2026-09-28.
Offices outside Congress are from Wikidata, a public, crowd-edited database.
Where they stand
In their own words, from their campaign website, summarised in plain English.
Economy and cost of living
Cooper says he wants to make everyday costs lower for families, including food, groceries, energy, housing and child care, arguing that big corporations and Washington insiders are driving up prices at the expense of working people.
“Roy Cooper is running for U.S. Senate to make stuff cost less, starting with the price of food and groceries.”
Cooper says he wants to make health care more affordable by cracking down on insurance companies that issue surprise bills and denied claims, and by building on his work expanding Medicaid as governor, which he says helped hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians get coverage.
“He will take that same common sense bipartisanship to Washington to make health care cost less the way he’s done his entire career.”
Cooper says he wants to lower energy and utility costs for families and hold utility companies, including Duke Energy, accountable as electricity bills continue to rise.
“Roy will work to deliver common-sense solutions that cut costs, hold utility companies including Duke Energy accountable and protect families from being ripped off.”
From FEC filings for 2025–26. Outside spending is money a group spends on its own about a candidate — TV and online ads, mail, canvassing. It is not a donation to the campaign, and the candidate does not control it. Supporting means it was spent to help that candidate win; Opposing means it was spent to defeat them, usually on attack ads. Groups report it within 24 or 48 hours as the election nears. Raised is the campaign's own fundraising, as of its latest quarterly report. Largest donors come from each outside spender's own FEC receipts, with each donor's share of its itemized receipts; donors under $100,000 are not named. People are shown with the employer and occupation they reported. A donor that is itself a political committee is shown with its own largest donors. Companies and nonprofits don't report their funders to the FEC, so the trail ends there, and the page says so.
Roy Cooper (DEM)
Raised
$35.0M through 2026-06-30individuals $13.1M · PACs $750K · party $71K · from the candidate's other committees $19.8M · cash on hand $20.7M
Outside spending
$38.8M opposing Cooper · $1.3M supporting Cooper· latest reported 2026-09-24
Largest outside spenders
SLF PAC— $28.3M opposing Cooper
· 25 ads on this pageLargest donors:
ONE NATION $70.7M (28%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); Miriam Adelson $30.0M (12%), Adelson Drug Clinic, Physician; Stephen A Schwarzman $17.0M (7%), Blackstone, Chairman & CEO; Paul Elliott Singer $14.5M (6%), EMC, President; Elon Musk $10.0M (4%), Space Exploration Technologies Corp., CEONO GOING BACK PAC INC.— $8.7M opposing CooperAMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY ACTION, INC. (AFP ACTION) DBA CVA ACTION AND DBA LIBRE ACTION— $1.8M opposing Cooper
· 6 ads on this pageLargest donors:
KOCH INC $30.0M (33%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); STAND TOGETHER INC. $20.0M (22%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); Jim C Walton $7.0M (8%), Self-Employed, Philanthropist; S Robson Walton $7.0M (8%), Retired, Retired; STAND TOGETHER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE INC $6.5M (7%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC)PLANNED PARENTHOOD VOTES NORTH CAROLINA— $624K supporting CooperWORKERS VOTE— $240K supporting CooperLargest donors:
UNITE HERE PAC $1.5M (45%); Lynn Schusterman $450K (13%), Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Founder AND Chair Emerita; MOVEMENT VOTER PAC $280K (8%); Sonjia Smith $265K (8%), Self Employed, Philanthropist; UNITE HERE LOCAL 274 $254K (8%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC)and 20 more
What named supporters and critics say, as reported. Shown in equal numbers.
Praise
NCAE President Rodney Ellis: Said the teachers' group decided to support Cooper because of his goals of raising teacher pay and per-pupil spending. wunc.org
Accurate?
Douglas Wilson: Called Cooper the most successful Democratic statewide official able to govern and get elected in a center-right purple state. washingtonexaminer.com
Accurate?
Whatley: Said Cooper's tenure made North Carolina the most expensive state for health care. pbs.org
Accurate?
state Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton: Called Cooper one of the best champions North Carolina has ever had and predicted he would flip the Senate seat. pbs.org
Accurate?
Criticism
JD Vance: Called Cooper 'the loyal servant of the hard Left' on crime, voter ID, and gender ideology, and blamed him for releasing inmates who reoffended. washingtonexaminer.com
Accurate?
Republican National Committee Spokesperson Emma Hall: Called Cooper soft on crime for letting offenders out of prison. foxnews.com
Accurate?
Michael Whatley: Said Cooper's vetoes of ICE cooperation legislation let dangerous people stay on the streets. foxnews.com
Accurate?
State Sen. Kirk deViere: Criticized Cooper for using the weight of his office to influence a Democratic primary by endorsing his opponent. newsobserver.com
Accurate?
Controversies
Stated as reported. Most are reported by at least two independent news outlets or found in an official record; any with only one source so far is marked Single source.
Court cases
Lawsuits over COVID-19 bar closures Single source
Only one source found so far. We keep looking for a second, independent report.
The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled in August that lawsuits filed by bar owners challenging Cooper's COVID-19 closure orders, which they said unfairly limited or prevented them from reopening while other alcohol-serving businesses could, may proceed to trial, according to the News & Observer. A prior Court of Appeals ruling found that while Cooper had authority to shut down businesses for public health, reopening restaurants but not bars violated bar owners' rights.
Lieutenant Governor's lawsuit over COVID-19 executive orders
Lt. Gov. Dan Forest sued Cooper in 2020, alleging Cooper's COVID-19 executive orders limiting business activity and mandating masks were unlawful without Council of State approval. A judge denied Forest's request for a preliminary injunction, finding Forest had not shown he was likely to succeed, and Forest then dropped the lawsuit, according to WUNC.
Ongoing separation-of-powers lawsuits with GOP legislature Single source
Only one source found so far. We keep looking for a second, independent report.
Cooper filed multiple lawsuits against Republican legislative leaders arguing laws stripping his appointment powers over boards such as elections boards, the Board of Transportation, and the Environmental Management Commission were unconstitutional; courts issued mixed rulings, blocking some provisions while upholding others, and the state Supreme Court previously ruled 4-3 in Cooper's favor on an elections board case in 2018.
State legislative investigation into pipeline mitigation fund Single source
Only one source found so far. We keep looking for a second, independent report.
An investigation launched by the Republican-controlled North Carolina General Assembly concluded that Gov. Cooper improperly handled negotiations over a $57.8 million fund tied to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. NC GOP officials separately called for a federal investigation into potential Hobbs Act violations related to the fund.
Cost of legislative pipeline investigation Single source
Only one source found so far. We keep looking for a second, independent report.
State legislators spent more than $59,000 on private investigators from Eagle Intel Services to probe Cooper's handling of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline mitigation fund; Cooper's staff declined to speak with the investigators, according to the News & Observer.
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