Roy Cooper enters race for North Carolina’s open Senate seat

Cooper launches Senate bid

Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has entered the contest for the Senate seat that Sen. Thom Tillis is vacating. Cooper’s announcement marks his move from state executive office into a campaign for federal office representing North Carolina.

The bid makes Cooper a candidate to succeed Tillis, who has decided not to seek another term. Cooper previously served as North Carolina’s governor; his new campaign is for a seat in the U.S. Senate rather than another state office.

The announcement begins Cooper’s effort to win the seat. It does not determine who will hold it after Tillis leaves, because the Senate campaign and election process still must take place.

Why the seat is open

Tillis’s decision not to run again means he will not seek to remain in the Senate for another term. That creates an open-seat contest: instead of facing a sitting senator seeking reelection, candidates will compete to become Tillis’s successor.

Cooper’s decision and Tillis’s decision are separate developments. Tillis chose not to pursue another term, creating the opening. Cooper then announced that he would seek the seat.

North Carolina voters will ultimately choose who succeeds Tillis through the state’s Senate election process. The next steps include further campaign activity and any additional candidate announcements as the contest develops.