Roy Cooper
Roy Cooper | |
|---|---|
Cooper in 2023 | |
| 75th Governor of North Carolina | |
| In office January 1, 2017 – January 1, 2025 | |
| Lieutenant | Dan Forest Mark Robinson |
| Preceded by | Pat McCrory |
| Succeeded by | Josh Stein |
| 50th Attorney General of North Carolina | |
| In office January 6, 2001 – January 1, 2017 | |
| Governor | |
| Preceded by | Mike Easley |
| Succeeded by | Josh Stein |
| Majority Leader of the North Carolina Senate | |
| In office July 17, 1997 – January 1, 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Richard Conder |
| Succeeded by | Tony Rand |
| Member of the North Carolina Senate from the 10th district | |
| In office February 21, 1991 – January 1, 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Jim Ezzell |
| Succeeded by | A. B. Swindell |
| Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 72nd district | |
| In office February 9, 1987 – February 21, 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Allen Barbee |
| Succeeded by | Edward McGee |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Roy Asberry Cooper III June 13, 1957 |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent | Roy Asberry Cooper Jr. (father) |
| Relatives | Pell Cooper (brother) |
| Education | University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (BA, JD) |
| Signature | |
Roy Asberry Cooper III (/ˈkʊpər/ KUUP-ər; born June 13, 1957) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 75th governor of North Carolina from 2017 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 50th attorney general of North Carolina from 2001 to 2017 and served in the North Carolina General Assembly from 1987 to 2001.
Born and raised in Eastern North Carolina, Cooper graduated from UNC Chapel Hill in 1979. He began his career as a lawyer and in 1986 was elected to represent the 72nd district in the North Carolina House of Representatives. In 1991, he was appointed a member of the North Carolina Senate, a position he held until 2001. He was elected North Carolina Attorney General in 2000 and reelected in 2004, 2008, and 2012, serving for nearly 16 years, the longest tenure for an attorney general in the state's history.
Cooper defeated Republican incumbent Pat McCrory for the governorship in a close race in the 2016 election. This election made Cooper the first challenger to defeat a sitting governor in the state's history. Cooper was reelected in 2020 against the Republican nominee, Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest. The Republican-dominated legislature passed bills in a special session to reduce the power of the governor's office before he took office, but Cooper continued to emphasize increases in education and healthcare funding throughout his tenure, culminating in successful negotiations of statewide Medicaid expansion.
Cooper is the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in the 2026 election in North Carolina.