Roy Cooper

Roy Cooper spent childhood summers working on the family farm in Nash County, where his father farmed and practiced law and his mother taught school.¹ He later returned to practice law in Rocky Mount, where he and his wife, Kristin, raised three daughters.² His community work has included teaching Sunday school and tutoring public school students.²

Cooper earned undergraduate and law degrees at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.² He served in both legislative chambers before four terms as attorney general and two as governor, from 2017 to 2025.¹ In 2007, he dismissed the remaining charges against three Duke lacrosse players and declared them innocent.³

As governor, he signed the bipartisan Medicaid expansion law in March 2023 after years of negotiations with Republican legislative leaders.⁴ In 2024, his administration created a program offering hospitals enhanced Medicaid payments in exchange for forgiving eligible medical debt and adopting patient financial protections.⁵⁶

Now running against Republican Michael Whatley, Cooper wants to restore enhanced Affordable Care Act insurance subsidies and reverse the Medicaid cuts enacted in 2025.⁷⁸ He also proposes broader Medicare drug price negotiations and annual limits on consumers’ prescription costs.⁷ They are competing to replace retiring Republican Senator Thom Tillis in a race that could influence Senate control.⁸