Candidate · November 3, 2026
Roy Cooper
On the ballot for U.S. Senate · North Carolina
- raised through Oct 14, 2026
- $50M
- cash on hand
- $9.1M
- issues with public statements
- 8
- outside spending for or against
- $47M
§1On the ballot
Why this matters: This is exactly how the candidate appears on your ballot, from the state's official candidate list.
| Office | U.S. Senate · North Carolina1, |
|---|---|
| Party on the ballot | Democratic Party1, |
| Status | Open seat — no incumbent is running for this seat. |
| Also on the ballot |
|
§2Who they are
Why this matters: Background and experience help you judge how someone might do the job. These come from public records and the candidate's own materials.
Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.
Roy Cooper was born and raised in Nash County, North Carolina, and earned undergraduate and law degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.4 He practiced law in Rocky Mount before being elected to the state legislature.4 He served four terms as North Carolina's attorney general.4 He was elected governor of North Carolina in 2016 and re-elected in 2020.4
Why they say they're running
His campaign website says he is running for the Senate because the middle class feels out of reach for many Americans while the largest corporations and the wealthiest people have gained great wealth, and that he wants to lower everyday costs.5,
Websites and accounts
- Campaign websiteroycooper.com5
- Facebookfacebook.com/roycoopernc5
- Instagraminstagram.com/roycoopernc5
- X (Twitter)x.com/RoyCooperNC5
- TikToktiktok.com/@roycoopernc5
- Threadsthreads.com/@roycoopernc5
- Blueskybsky.app/profile/roycoopernc.bsky.social5
§3What they've said on the issues
Why this matters: These are positions the candidate has stated publicly — on their campaign website or in public statements — summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Issues they haven't spoken about publicly are left out.
Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.
Each issue has its own range of views. A position is marked on that range only when the candidate's own statement clearly matches one option; there is no overall left–right score.
Economy, Jobs and Trade
Health Care
His campaign website says he would reinstate the expired Affordable Care Act premium tax credits.9
His campaign website says he would reverse recent cuts to Medicaid.9
- Reduce federal Medicaid spending further, such as by giving states fixed yearly amounts (block grants or per-person limits)
- Keep the funding rules set by the 2025 law
- Reverse the 2025 changes or increase federal funding
Social Security and Medicare
His campaign website says he would require Medicare to broaden its drug price negotiations to make more medicines affordable, and would cap yearly out-of-pocket prescription costs.9
- Repeal or scale back negotiation
- Keep the program as it is
- Expand it to more drugs and to people with private insurance
Energy and Climate
His campaign website says data centers should pay the full cost of the power they use without passing it on to consumers, and that local communities should be fully involved in decisions about new data centers.10
- Encourage new data centers with tax breaks and faster approvals
- Require data centers to pay the full cost of the power plants and lines they need
- Pause or limit new data centers
Housing
His campaign website says he supports stopping large corporations, investment funds and foreign companies from buying single-family homes.8
His campaign website says he would offer incentives for apartment and modular construction, streamline rules, speed up reviews and help convert commercial buildings to housing.8
Family and Social Policy
His campaign website says he would expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, invest in the child care workforce, cut unnecessary regulations for child care facilities and offer tax credits to employers who help with child care.11
§4Money
Why this matters: Campaigns report where their money comes from and how much they have left. Outside groups that spend on their own, without coordinating with the campaign, report that too.
Reported to the Federal Election Commission for the 2025–2026 election cycle, through October 14, 2026.12
| Raised | $49,585,341 |
|---|---|
| Spent | $40,496,482 |
| Cash on hand | $9,088,860 |
| Debts owed by the campaign | $55,873 |
Where the money came from
Outside spending
Groups spending independently reported $4,426,503 supporting and $42,303,956 opposing Roy Cooper this cycle, primary and general combined, in the 24- and 48-hour reports the law requires for larger expenditures, filed through October 26, 2026.13
| Group | Supporting | Opposing |
|---|---|---|
| SLF PAC | — | $30,233,037 |
| NO GOING BACK PAC INC. | — | $9,017,291 |
| Americans for Prosperity Action, Inc. (AFP Action) DBA CVA Action and DBA LIBRE Action | — | $1,766,545 |
| NC First PAC | — | $1,200,000 |
| Planned Parenthood Votes North Carolina (FEC) | $1,175,089 | — |
| AB PAC | $884,699 | — |
| WORKERS VOTE | $420,715 | — |
| Care in Action PAC | $325,060 | — |
Smaller expenditures that appear only on a group's regular monthly or quarterly report aren't in these totals, so the full amounts can be somewhat higher. When a group amends a report, only its latest version is counted.
§5Financial disclosures
Why this matters: Federal candidates and members of Congress must report their assets, income, debts and outside jobs, and members must report stock trades. These filings show possible conflicts of interest.
Senate candidates and senators file with the Senate's own disclosure system, which asks each visitor to agree to its terms before searching, so we can't link straight to a filing. You can search for Roy Cooper at efdsearch.senate.gov14.