Former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper Announces Senate Bid For North Carolina

Former Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) announced a Senate run in North Carolina in a video posted on social media Monday.

Transcript

00:00It wasn't always this hard, because being in the middle class meant something.

00:04You could afford a home, your kids went to good schools, your job paid enough to cover

00:09the basics, and most summers you could get away for a few days.

00:13For the most part, life was pretty good.

00:16I'm Roy Cooper, and I know that today, for too many Americans, the middle class feels

00:21like a distant dream.

00:23Meanwhile, the biggest corporations and the richest Americans have grabbed unimaginable

00:28wealth at your expense.

00:31It's time for that to change.

00:33I grew up in Nash County, working on the farm every summer.

00:37My mom was a public school teacher, my dad a small-town lawyer and farmer.

00:42It's where I started my family, taught Sunday school for years, and started my law practice

00:48that helped everyday people and small businesses.

00:51When you made me your attorney general, I prosecuted criminals and took on scammers, big banks,

00:57and drug companies.

00:59When you made me your governor, we balanced the state budget every year and worked with

01:05Republicans to raise teacher pay, recruit thousands of better-paying jobs, and expand Medicaid

01:11to more than 650,000 working North Carolinians.

01:15But right now, our country's facing a moment as fragile as any I can remember.

01:20And the decisions we make in the next election will determine if we even have a middle class

01:26in America anymore.

01:28I never really wanted to go to Washington.

01:31I just wanted to serve the people of North Carolina right here, where I've lived all my

01:36life.

01:37But these are not ordinary times.

01:39Politicians in D.C. are running up our debt, ripping away our health care, disrespecting

01:46our veterans, cutting health for the poor, and even putting Medicare and Social Security

01:52at risk just to give tax breaks to billionaires.

01:56That's wrong, and I've had enough.

01:58I've thought on it and prayed about it, and I've decided, I want to serve as your next United

02:04States Senator.

02:05Because even now, I still believe our best days are ahead of us.

02:11I love North Carolina, and I know you do too.

02:15I need you to be with us, and I can't wait to see you out there.