With a grin, former two-term Gov. Roy Cooper hinted Saturday night at the announcement everyone is expecting.
Speaking at the N.C. Democratic Party's annual Unity Dinner fundraiser, Cooper asked everyone who is planning to run for office in 2026 to stand up.
Cooper waited a moment and said: "I'm not sitting down, am I?"
The crowd of about 1,200 people at N.C. State's Talley Student Union immediately broke into a chant of "Run, Roy, run."
Cooper, who was elected to two terms as North Carolina's governor and four terms as its attorney general, is widely expected to run for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by two-term Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican who is not seeking re-election. Several media outlets have reported that an announcement could come as soon as Monday.
Wiley Nickel, a former Congressman, had previously announced a Senate run but is expected to instead run for Wake County District Attorney, WRAL reported Friday.
On the Republican side, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley is planning to run for the seat, WUNC reported last week. That news came shortly after Lara Trump, a Wilmington-area native and President Donald Trump's daughter-in-law, passed on running for the seat.
Thursday night, Donald Trump made a Truth Social post announcing his support of Whatley's candidacy. Whatley is a former chair of the N.C. Republican Party.
"He is fantastic at everything he does, and he was certainly great at the RNC where, in the Presidential Election, we won every Swing State, the Popular Vote, and the Electoral College by a landslide!" Trump posted.
Republicans currently hold a three-seat majority in the U.S. Senate, meaning Democrats need to win four seats to take control of the chamber. The North Carolina seat is seen as one of a handful of the most competitive in the country, alongside the Georgia seat held by Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, and the Michigan seat held by retiring Sen. Gary Peters, also a Democrat.
Cook Political Report describes all three seats as toss-ups.
State Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton told reporters Saturday night that the party is focused on more than just the Senate race. Right now, Clayton said, the party is in the midst of a tour of 54 rural counties focused exclusively on down ballot races, including the Supreme Court race for which Justice Anita Earls is seeking re-election.
"What we're doing right now, what we're focused on, is building a 100-county party infrastructure that can really withstand and be what I like to call the road that the candidates are going to drive their cars on," Clayton said.
Clayton also said that North Carolina Democrats' message leading up to 2026 will focus on pushing back against the Trump Administration.
