With a smile on his face, former Gov. Roy Cooper walked up to a voting booth Thursday at Chavis Community Center in Raleigh and filled in the bubble by his name.
He cast his ballot to become North Carolina’s next U.S. senator.
Outside, dozens of supporters waited for him holding up signs with his name on it. They cheered when he confirmed his vote.
He made his way over to them and vowed to be “the kind of senator that addresses the issues facing everyday people.”
“I want to make sure that I’m a strong, independent senator who can work with this president when I can, stand up to him when I need to and recognize that people are struggling right now,” Cooper said.
Behind his supporters were three people dressed in orange prison jumpsuits with signs implying that Cooper let them out of prison. Cooper’s campaign has faced two weeks of scrutiny over the former governor allowing people who had committed violent crimes out of prison during the COVID-19 pandemic.
National headlines have focused on the fact that a list of released inmates included DeCarlos Brown, a man accused years later of killing Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a train in Charlotte. Brown was already out of prison when a 2021 legal settlement was signed allowing for the release.
Cooper, 68, of Raleigh, told his supporters and reporters who had gathered that he refused to sign an executive order to release anyone from prison during the pandemic, but was forced to anyway.
“The state was sued, and the judge ordered a significant number of prisoners to be released,” Cooper said. “What the prison officials and law enforcement officials did was take the lead from President Trump, who, during COVID had signed a bill that released 13,000 prisoners.”
Under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, 13,000 federal inmates were moved to home confinement.
Cooper said in North Carolina, law enforcement and prison personnel examined “each and every case” to keep the community safe.
He pointed to his work as attorney general, saying he’s “the only candidate in this race who spent a career prosecuting violent criminals and keeping thousands of them behind bars.”
He said he worked with Republicans to sign tough-on-crime legislation and laws that prevent earlier release.
And he criticized his opponent, former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, for supporting cuts to law enforcement made by the unofficial Department of Government Efficiency.
Whatley, 56, of Gastonia, has supported cuts made by DOGE under President Donald Trump, calling those “fundamental,” but hasn’t specifically spoken to the cuts DOGE made to law enforcement. Among the cuts DOGE made was around $820 million in funding for violence reduction programs and law enforcement support.
Three N.C. State students — Joi Hester, John Vanmeter-Kirk and Nikolai Kutsch — stood nearby listening to Cooper speak.
Hester, 32, of Raleigh, said she supports Cooper for all the reasons she doesn’t support Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from Huntersville, who is forgoing reelection.
“Roy Cooper is personable,” Hester said. “He actually cares about the lived experiences of everyday North Carolinians and not just those in the 1% or that are set to benefit from some things that our legislators shouldn’t be engaging in to begin with.”
Hester said Cooper is willing to work in a bipartisan way to pass legislation.
“I’ve always seen him striving to sort of move past (gridlock) and to keep things in motion,” Hester said. “Momentum is a big thing for me, and I feel like that’s what translates to real, actionable goals for the Democratic Party.”
And Hester said she’s frustrated by contacting Tillis’ office about “critical issues” only to receive boilerplate responses.
“It’s not acceptable,” Hester said. “I think our neighbors deserve more. They deserve better, and they deserve people that care about protecting the democratic institution as a whole.”
Kutsch said his family has supported Cooper “for a long time.”
“He’s been a figure of stability for North Carolina in 2016 when Trump was elected and everyone was unsure of what was going to happen next, we at least knew that Roy Cooper was going to be our governor and get us through difficult times,” Kutsch said.
Vanmeter-Kirk credited Cooper with getting North Carolina to the point it is now.
“He’s always been a man of the people, and is going to continue to be a man of the people,” he said. “I also appreciate his focus on affordability because I believe that Gov. Cooper is someone who actually knows the prices of milk at a grocery store. I don’t believe if you take big interest money you necessarily know the price of any groceries.”
Cooper said many people are unsure of how to reach the middle class. They’re out of money at the end of the month after paying for groceries, rent, utilities and child care, he said.
Cooper said he wants to tell “Washington insiders” this needs to change.
Cooper said he doesn’t believe the United States is as divided as people are led to believe.
“I also believe that when I’m there, starting in 2027, we’ll be on the last two years of this president’s administration,” Cooper said. I believe that more Republicans are going to want to step up to reinsert the checks and balances that the framers of our Constitution intended.”
Cooper said Congress needs to take back constitutional authority on trade and tariffs, on declarations of war and on budget matters, where the executive branch is spending money Congress never appropriated.
“I believe our best days are ahead of us, because oftentimes when things are on the brink of destruction, you have an opportunity to recreate them better than they were before,” Cooper said. “And I believe that there will be bipartisan interest in marking government more effective and efficient, using technology and leveraging the good parts of AI and giving taxpayers more bang for their buck. I believe that we’ll be able to find some people who will work with us.”
Whatley also cast his ballot Thursday morning. His campaign did not immediately answer a request for comment and McClatchy was not invited to attend his vote casting.
Early voting began Thursday morning and continues until Feb. 28.
Danielle Battaglia
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