Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) is leaving elected office in January, but he has not ruled out seeking a different elected office in two years.
Cooper, the term-limited two-term governor of the Tar Heel State, has been floated as a candidate to challenge Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) for his Senate seat in 2026. In an interview with local outlet WSOC, Cooper did not dismiss running for Senate but also said he would take his time on the decision.
“So I’ve promised my wife and my family that I’m going to take some time to try to decide what it is that I want to do after this,” Cooper told the outlet. “I love public service. I want to keep helping North Carolina and our country.”
“I haven’t made that decision yet, but it’s on the table. Everything is on the table right now. Look, I haven’t driven in eight years, so I got to get ready to know how to drive my car again,” he added.
The outgoing governor won statewide races in North Carolina twice, despite President-elect Donald Trump winning the concurrent president elections in the state in 2016 and 2020. In his 2016 election, he defeated incumbent Republican Gov. Pat McCrory and won in 2020 despite Tillis and President-elect Donald Trump winning statewide on the same ballot.
Tillis will be one of the most vulnerable Senate Republicans seeking reelection, alongside Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) who is running for reelection in Democrat-leaning Maine.
Cooper will be succeeded in the governor’s office by North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein after his fellow Democrat handily defeated scandal-ridden Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson in last month’s election. Stein’s election also came despite Trump winning the concurrent presidential election in the state.
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When the outgoing governor was asked by the outlet what advice he had for Stein, Cooper said that the incoming governor should “never ever give up on things you know are important” and also “do your best to find common ground whenever you can.”
Unlike Cooper’s final years in office, Stein will not have to deal with a veto-proof GOP supermajority in the legislature.
