Recap: 2025 NCDP Unity Dinner
It’s July 26, 96° F, and the Talley Student Union is bustling with governors, State Supreme Court Justices, NCGA leaders, and the anticipation of a possible Senate announcement
In the Press Pool
Left of Old North was fortunate enough to be invited to attend the 2025 NCDP Unity Dinner on the campus of NC State University. The Talley Student Union Banquet Hall was filled to the brim with loyal Democrats, party leaders, and a grab bag of political operatives. Everyone was of course excited to see each other and talk about the goings on in D.C and over on 16 West Jones Street, but the one thing that was on everybody’s mind was if former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper was going to make a formal announcement of his anticipated entrance into the North Carolina Senate race.
The night was filled with speeches from NCDP Chair Anderson Clayton, Democratic House Leader Robert Reives, Democratic Senate Leader Sydney Batch, NC State Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls, former NC Governor Roy Cooper, and a keynote address by Governor of Illinois JB Pritzker. All of them in agreement on the importance of the moment in resisting the Trump regime and on the need to do the work over the next few years to ensure Democratic control once more of the courts and the General Assembly.
The soft chatter and the sounds of silverware scraping against plates filled the room and continued through the evening, applause breaking up the din. But as Justice Earls’ speech came to an end and her introduction of former Governor Cooper began, the energy in the room shifted. Attendees sat up straight in their chairs, the silverware scraping stopped, and the anticipation began.
Governor Cooper, clad in a grey suit, red tie — and I gotta say, really comfortable looking shoes (if by chance his staff is reading this, let me know what they are, I need a pair) — had the room hanging on his every word. He echoed similar sentiments as those who preceded him in the speaker lineup. And then he said something that caught the attention of everyone in the room, guests, press, staffers, everyone.
”Everybody who is planning to run for office next year please stand up…”
*break for applause, as he looks around and down at the ground beside him and then back up.*
”Hey, I’m not sitting down am I?”
And the crowd goes wild! Chants of “Run Roy Run” break out. Smile beaming on his face as he looked around the room. The cheering went on for around a minute. We also got pretty excited, to say the least:
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This was the moment everyone had been waiting for… sorta. While it’s not technically a formal announcement, it was still the announcement that every Dem had been looking forward to. The formal announcement (with the big production and press and whatnot) is expected to come this week (sources saying tomorrow, 7/28/25).
So, What Does This Mean?
Quite simply, Democrats have a pretty decent chance of sending a Senator to DC for the first time since 2008. Cooper is expected to be going up against the (soon to be former) Chair of the RNC Michael Whatley, a man who has never held elected office and is widely and correctly seen as nothing more than a Trump sycophant. Whatley also has next to zero name recognition in the state outside of political circles, whereas Roy Cooper has been elected numerous times to the NC State House, NC Attorney General where he served for nearly 16 years, and then two terms as Governor.
Roy Cooper has been in the public consciousness for nearly two decades and has wide appeal among moderates and even some Republicans. Not to say that this will be easy or is a guaranteed win, but I would make the argument that it’s the best shot the Dems have had to flip a Senate seat since 2008.
Some Criticisms from the Public
Some of the most common criticisms that we’ve seen in the less than 24 hours since the Unity Dinner seems to boil down to a few things. That he’s “too old” (he is currently 68), he’s a Democrat (this particular criticism coming from Republicans and some Leftists), and that he’s not progressive enough (specifically on Israel-Gaza and healthcare).
Is he as progressive as I would like him to be? Not by a long shot. I am a “tax the billionaires, free childcare and free universal healthcare for all, we need younger leaders, Gaza is a genocide” sort of progressive. But, I am also a child of WNC, a political operative, and a pragmatist. I’ve worked all over the state on campaigns over the past 10 years and the fact is a Mamdani-like, Warren-like, or Bernie-like figure would not work in North Carolina, at least on a state wide level, not right now, despite how much I would love it. (local and state office level though I’d argue are a different story to some extent.)
Would I love a younger candidate? Definitely. I fully believe that we need to build and continue to build a bench of young Democrats (and we are) but when it comes to defeating Republicans and flipping this long held GOP seat? I don’t know of any other candidate with the name recognition, connections, and pre-existing relationship with the public that Roy Cooper has.
We cannot let perfect be the enemy of good — thank you, Voltaire — and lose this seat to republicans for another six years, North Carolina can’t take it and North Carolina sure as hell deserves better. That said, I am incredibly excited for Roy to run and to flip this seat from Red to Blue.
Run, Roy. Run.