Centrist Independent Voter (CIVPAC) endorses former Governor Roy Cooper for the U.S. Senate from North Carolina in the November general election.
Cooper is a Democrat, and CIVPAC does not agree with him on everything. His economic rhetoric can be more populist than we would prefer, and some of his proposals rely too heavily on tax credits, subsidies and government intervention. We also differ with him on aspects of education policy, particularly his opposition to broader school choice.
Nor do we dismiss Republican Michael Whatley simply because he is a Republican. Whatley is closer to CIVPAC on some elements of immigration enforcement and school choice, and his support for an all-of-the-above energy strategy has merit. A nonpartisan voter guide describes Whatley as supporting an energy mix that includes fossil fuels, nuclear power and renewables. (2026 North Carolina U.S. Senate Voters Guide)
But elections require choices among the candidates actually running, and on balance Cooper is clearly the better choice.
Cooper brings an unusually substantial record of governing in a politically divided state. He served two terms as governor while Republicans controlled the North Carolina legislature and previously served four terms as attorney general. His most important bipartisan achievement may be Medicaid expansion. After years of disagreement, Cooper and Republican legislative leaders reached a compromise in 2023 that extended health coverage to more than 600,000 North Carolinians. Whatever one’s views on Medicaid expansion, reaching a major agreement with a legislature controlled by the opposing party is meaningful evidence of an ability to govern rather than merely posture. (North Carolina Governor’s Office)
Cooper’s current economic agenda is also more pragmatic than some of his campaign rhetoric suggests. He has criticized tariffs that raise consumer prices, proposed measures to increase housing supply, and emphasized competition and greater price transparency in health care. We would not endorse every proposal, but the emphasis on affordability and increasing supply is preferable to pretending that tariffs and protectionism make goods cheaper. (Roy Cooper campaign: Make Stuff Cost Less)
On immigration, Cooper is not an open-borders candidate. He has said that the federal government should deport violent criminals while criticizing indiscriminate immigration enforcement. Cooper’s position is well within the range of a serious debate over how immigration law should be enforced. (NC Newsline)
Cooper also has a reassuring record on American leadership abroad. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he imposed state sanctions on Russian interests and supported providing military equipment from the North Carolina National Guard to Ukraine. His Senate campaign has not laid out a comprehensive foreign-policy platform, but his actions as governor demonstrate support for helping a democratic country resist armed aggression. (North Carolina Governor’s Office)
What most clearly separates the candidates, however, is their relationship to President Trump and to democratic institutions.
Whatley has chosen to make loyalty to Trump central to his candidacy. His own campaign says he is “committed to advancing President Trump’s America First agenda” in the Senate, and he repeatedly describes working with Trump as part of his program. (Michael Whatley campaign) More troubling, after the 2020 election Whatley echoed Trump’s unsupported claims of widespread voter fraud. (The Washington Post)
CIVPAC believes senators owe their allegiance to the Constitution and their constituents, not to a president of either party.
Cooper will not always vote as we would like. Whatley sometimes would. But Cooper combines a long record of competent statewide leadership, demonstrated ability to work across party lines, broadly responsible positions on foreign affairs and immigration, and a much healthier view of the institutional role of an elected official.