Why We're Backing Roy Cooper for US Senate
North Carolinians know Roy Cooper. For decades, he has earned the trust of this state by fighting for public schools, defending workers, expanding healthcare, and helping communities recover in difficult times. We were proud to endorse him for Attorney General and twice for Governor, and we are proud to endorse him once again — this time for the United States Senate.
Even as the best state in the country for business, North Carolina is the worst state in America for workers. Thousands of families struggle to make ends meet, and inflation, higher gas prices, and federal layoffs have made it even harder. This is especially true in rural areas and western North Carolina, which is still facing the effects of Hurricane Helene. Cooper knows that it wasn’t always this hard, and he understands that many working families feel like the middle class is a distant dream. That’s why he has a plan to make stuff cost less for working people, from healthcare to childcare and gas to groceries.
“For too many families, there’s just too much month at the end of the money. As Senator, I’ll work across the aisle to help change that.” – Roy Cooper, 4/28/26
Governor Cooper has always been on the side of working people. He secured historic raises for public school teachers and public employees, created hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs throughout his tenure as governor, and advocated for more generous unemployment benefits for North Carolinians out of a job. After the Canton mill closure devastated Haywood County and left thousands of North Carolinians without a livelihood, Governor Cooper proposed $5 million in economic relief for the area, coordinated job retraining programs and government support, and held Pactiv Evergreen accountable for breaching an agreement with the state to provide economic incentives.
He has always been a champion of public education: as the son of a public school teacher, Governor Cooper knows that the best investment North Carolinians can make is in the next generation. He proclaimed 2024 the “Year of Public Schools,” funded and expanded workforce training and apprenticeship programs, and created “Finish Line Grants” to help community college students finish their degrees even when a last-minute financial hardship gets in the way.
Governor Cooper’s signature achievement was in healthcare: expanding Medicaid to provide healthcare coverage to 650,000 working North Carolinians. He also created a program to forgive up to $4 billion in medical debt, a life-changing policy for nearly 2 million North Carolinians. Still, DC politicians last summer ripped health coverage away from thousands of people. Cooper wants to reverse these cuts that have left people without affordable insurance and reinstate ACA tax credits, in addition to making healthcare cost less by allowing doctors to make insurance coverage decisions, requiring Medicare to broaden negotiations with drug makers, and curbing surprise billing by improving transparency.
As Governor, Cooper funneled $1 billion into childcare in North Carolina, but it remains prohibitively expensive and a barrier to workforce participation for many. As Senator, Cooper has pledged to expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, grow and support the child care workforce, and encourage employers to provide on-site child care or employee child care subsidies through employer tax credits.
“Things are hard for working people right now, and Roy Cooper understands that,” said North Carolina AFL-CIO President Braxton Winston. “North Carolina needs a voice in Washington who will fight for worker’s rights, affordable healthcare, and an economy that works for everyone, not just people at the top – and that voice is Roy Cooper.”
Governor Cooper will face former NCGOP chair Michael Whatley in November. This race is a “must-win” for Democrats to restore a pro-worker majority in the US Senate. North Carolina's General Election will be on Tuesday, November 3rd.