Former Governor Roy Cooper (D) will face off against President Donald Trump’s endorsee Michael Whatley (R) in November for Thom Tillis’s open North Carolina seat in the U.S. Senate. On May 21, Cooper brought his “Make Stuff Cost Less Tour” to Winston-Salem, gathering supporters at the InDemand-Asian Street Food & Burger Bar.
Cooper is running with the slogan, “Make stuff cost less.” He said that if elected, he would work to lower the rising cost of living in North Carolina.
With over 80 people in attendance, the venue roared with cheers supporting Cooper’s campaign.
“Stuff just costs more. Stuff costs too much,” Cooper said at the event. “We need people in [Washington, D.C.] who actually care about that. We need people in [Washington, D.C.] who have solutions. Not [those who are] just complaining about it, but have solutions to actually help people.
A working mom shares struggles with rising costs
Before Cooper appeared in front of event attendees, two local speakers shared why they are voting for Cooper in November.
The first speaker was NaTashia Alexander, a working mom who described how high childcare costs affect her family.Despite her and her husband trying to keep spending low, they continue to see a rise in their monthly bills.
“Life is getting more unaffordable,” Alexander said. She explained that she and her husband went into debt paying for childcare for her 10-year-old son when he was younger—even with Alexander working at the very childcare facility that cared for her son. Now, Alexander has a five-month-old daughter. With childcare out of reach, Alexander and her husband take turns staying home with the baby.
On top of rising childcare costs, Alexander said her family struggles with the rising cost of utilities, including air conditioning, that coincide with the rising outside temperatures of the North Carolina summer.
“This summer, as we know, has been hot as the devil out here,” Alexander said. “We have been keeping our house warmer this year to keep the bills low, but the bill is also still higher than it was last year when we were keeping our heat on 68—now it is on 72. So we are going hotter but also paying more for our Duke Energy bill.”
Along with the rising prices of groceries and gas, Alexander cited these reasons for why she plans to vote for Cooper.
“Winston-Salem, we just simply can’t afford [Whatley] as our senator,” Alexander said. “With [Cooper] in the Senate, we will have someone ready to bring North Carolina common sense to Washington, D.C., and fight to make stuff cost less for working North Carolina families like mine.”
A Republican veteran worries about the war in Iran
Vice Admiral John Morgan has lived in Winston-Salem for 20 years and served the U.S. Navy for 36 years. Morgan said he will vote for Cooper in part because of his concerns with the ongoing Iran war.
“I am a longstanding Republican, as is my wife, but I support [Cooper],” Morgan said.
Many Americans, along with Morgan, disagree with the Trump administration’s decision to enter a war with Iran.
“There is no clear exit strategy. It seems to change day-by-day,” Morgan said. “It leads to an important question, and that is, ‘How will this end?”
“Our men and women in uniform carry a heavy burden in this spot,” he continued. “Today, we are carrying the burden as well. You are sharing in that burden, and that burden is skyrocketing prices. I am alarmed—and perhaps you are as well—about the political divide in this country. We need to restore the balance of power in [Washington, D.C.].”
Cooper: “The people will be my sole focus.”
As Cooper took the stage, he said he is not only running for veterans like Morgan and working moms like Alexander, but to support all people across North Carolina.
“I am running for people like Meredith right here in Winston-Salem who has a child, Vivi, with cerebral palsy, and is on Medicaid, and is scared to death that these attacks from [Washington, D.C.] on people’s healthcare are going to whisk the healthcare away from Vivi,” Cooper said.
He added: “And I am running for people like John, who has a business in Black Mountain. He also has his home there, and is seeing utilities go through the roof. I am running for teachers like Stephanie in Wayne County, who’s seen her budget busted almost every single week that she goes to the grocery store.”
A year ago, Cooper said, he did not know that he was going to run for the U.S. Senate. He believed his time in office concluded along with his second term as governor in 2025; however, events in the Capitol led him to run for senator.
“I saw, almost every day, two or three things coming down from Washington, D.C., that reached a new level of chaos and horror,” Cooper said. “And even though when I looked up at all those committee chairs in the Senate and thought, ‘I might be a little young for this,’ I knew that I needed to step up because [Washington, D.C.] is broken. We need a change.”
Cooper criticized his opponent, Whatley, describing him as too friendly with companies like Duke Energy, which holds a regulated monopoly in North Carolina.
“We need someone who is going to be for the people,” Cooper said. “I am grateful to have the support of Democrats, unaffiliated [and] Republican [voters] across this state who know that it is important to have a senator who is going to put the people first, the people before power, the people before parties, the people before politics. The people will be my sole focus.”
He recognized the history of North Carolina as a swing state, calling for voter support in what could be a close race.
“I believe that you don’t send [Washington D.C.] insiders to fix a problem caused by [Washington, D.C.] insiders. And I am going to come to [Washington, D.C.] with fresh ideas, knowing things that have worked in North Carolina, knowing that people need healthcare, knowing that we need policies that drive down the cost of utilities, gas, food, childcare and healthcare.”
He continued: “We can do that if we elect people who have that commitment. And I promise to you that I am going to work hard every day, not only in this election, but after I get to [Washington D.C].”
A word with Cooper
In a statement to the Old Gold & Black, Cooper said he plans to drive down housing and utility costs for young adults, including recent college graduates.
“We need leaders who understand that young people who want to buy a house need help with that,” he said. “I have proposals on getting houses built faster and permitting reform and trying to help young people get into homes because right now, so many of them just don’t think they will ever be able to have them.”
At the end of the event, Cooper stayed back until he had the opportunity to speak to and take a photo with every attendee.
