RALEIGH, N.C. — Former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper will run for the U.S. Senate in North Carolina, giving Democrats a proven statewide winner in an open-seat race that is expected to be one of the most competitive 2026 contests.
Mr. Cooper made the announcement Monday with a video released on social media and his campaign website. The former two-term governor will immediately become the front-runner for the Democratic nomination in the race to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis.
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley plans to run for the GOP nomination, with President Donald Trump’s blessing, according to two people familiar with his thinking.
Mr. Whatley, the former North Carolina GOP chairman, received Trump’s endorsement after the president’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, passed on the race.
Mr. Cooper’s candidacy is a big recruiting win for Democrats, who see the seat as a top pick-up opportunity in what will be a challenging year. To retake the majority in 2026, Democrats need to net four seats, and most of the contests are in states that Mr. Trump easily won last year. Mr. Trump won North Carolina by about 3 percentage points, one of his closest margins of victory.
Mr. Trump endorsed Whatley on his Truth Social platform Thursday night, saying, “Mike would make an unbelievable Senator from North Carolina.”
Mr. Cooper’s video announcement focused on the state’s middle class, which he said is in danger of being eliminated in America at the expense of Washington politicians “running up our debt, ripping away our health care” and “cutting help for the poor,” even as they “give tax breaks to billionaires.”
Ex-U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel has already been campaigning for the Democratic nomination for months. Mr. Nickel and his campaign didn’t immediately comment on Mr. Cooper entering the race. Party primaries are March 3.
Anticipating Mr. Nickel would stand aside quickly, state Democrats rallied around Cooper.
Mr. Cooper “is one of the best champions North Carolina has ever had, and we are confident he will flip this seat in 2026,” state Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton said in a release. Current Democratic Gov. Josh Stein also endorsed Mr. Cooper on Monday.
Mr. Cooper, 68, has been on statewide ballots going back a quarter-century. He served 16 years previously as attorney general before being first elected governor in 2016.
With a political career going back nearly 40 years, Mr. Cooper has had a knack for winning in a state where the legislature and appeals courts are now dominated by Republicans. State law barred him from seeking a third consecutive gubernatorial term. He spent the spring on a teaching gig at Harvard.
“I never really wanted to go to Washington. I just wanted to serve the people of North Carolina right here, where I’ve lived all my life,” Mr. Cooper says in the video. “But these are not ordinary times.”
State and national Democrats were longing for Cooper to join the race well before Mr. Tillis announced June 29 that he would not seek a third term. That news came after Mr. Trump threatened to back a primary candidate against him as Mr. Tillis opposed Medicaid reductions in the president’s tax break and spending cut package.
Democrats haven’t won a Senate race since 2008 in North Carolina, where independent voters tend to vote Republican in federal elections. Statewide races can be financially exorbitant because there are so many television markets — hundreds of millions of dollars are expected to be spent in the race.
Mr. Cooper’s recent political history has painted him as a fighter against what he considers extreme Republican policies, while at times finding consensus with GOP rivals.
As governor, he steered the state through the coronavirus pandemic, Hurricanes Helene and Florence and a law that became an early flashpoint in the culture wars over access to public restrooms by transgender people. That “bathroom bill” was rolled back early in Mr. Cooper’s first term, and the state’s economy soared during his tenure, marked by big jobs announcements and low unemployment.
While Mr. Cooper got Medicaid expansion approved and a landmark climate change law enacted, he fell short in stopping legislation that widely expanded private school vouchers and narrowed abortion rights.
Mr Cooper’s perceived accomplishments raised his national profile in 2024, making him a potential running mate for Kamala Harris until he said it “just wasn’t the right time” for him and North Carolina.
Republicans have argued that Mr. Cooper remains susceptible politically, citing what they consider an extreme record supporting abortion rights and opposing school choice, which led to many vetoes.
They also say he was slow to respond to Helene, slow to rebuild or renovate homes after Hurricanes Matthew and Florence, and issued executive orders that restricted businesses and school instruction during COVID-19.
“There are people you trust in the driver’s seat. Roy Cooper isn’t one of them,” the National Republican Senatorial Committee said in a social media video released Monday. “Roy Cooper isn’t just off course — he’s a wreck.”
As for the roaring economy, Republicans credit themselves with lower taxes and deregulation.
Mr. Tillis’ retirement announcement heartened far-right Republicans and strong Trump supporters who have been unhappy for years with his willingness to challenge Mr. Trump’s actions and his Cabinet agency choices.
Republicans had deferred to Lara Trump, who is a North Carolina native, a North Carolina State University graduate and a popular former RNC co-chair with Whatley during the 2024 election campaign. She posted on the social media platform X on Thursday that she would not seek the Senate seat.