He’s the calm, Nash County-native, Carolina Hurricanes-loving governor and his time in office is coming to an end. For now, at least.
After two terms as governor, four terms as attorney general and time in both the state House and Senate, North Carolina’s Gov. Roy Cooper will soon hand off his title of highest politician in the state to fellow Democrat Josh Stein.
So the question lingers, will he remain in public service with another campaign or will he step aside and enjoy life outside of politics?
The 67-year-old has been largely unclear about his plans post-executive mansion.
“Governor Cooper remains committed to serving the people of North Carolina each day for the rest of his time in office,” Spokesperson Ben Conroy wrote in an email statement. “After his term ends, the Governor looks forward to spending time with family and will be keeping all options on the table for what’s next.”
If he did want to step back into the limelight, though, he’s got a full resume and a largely positive public appearance to push him through into a new position.
One of Cooper’s possible next steps would be a 2026 U.S. Senate run, said Jason Roberts, American politics professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
If he throws his hat into that race, he could go up against incumbent Republican Thom Tillis who has held the seat for two terms.
Even with Cooper’s track record of never losing a race, Roberts thinks going up against Tillis would be a “a battle of two heavyweights.”
It would be an “incredibly hard fought, incredibly expensive, incredibly high-profile race,” Roberts added.
A Victory Insights poll conducted in late November with likely North Carolina voters showed that in a hypothetical general election match-up with Tillis, Cooper has about a 1 percentage point lead with almost 11% undecided.
Notably, Tillis’ last victory was no landslide. He won by less than 2 percentage points against Cal Cunningham, an opponent who “essentially lit himself on fire” in 2020 due to an alleged affair scandal, Roberts said.
Cooper is largely uncontroversial, which could help his run too, Roberts said, calling him a “mild mannered, moderate person.”
Or does Cooper have even larger dreams?
He had a taste of national attention during the early days of Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential run when his name was thrown around for a possible running mate pick of hers. Cooper ultimately withdrew from consideration, but the excitement from North Carolinians about the prospect was palpable.
Roberts thinks Cooper’s status is exactly what voters say they’re looking for in a presidential candidate – a high-profile politician who’s not from Washington D.C.
The future for Cooper could also include no politics at all. North Carolinians will just have to wait and see.
