Roy Cooper brought his U.S. Senate campaign to Concord this weekend, holding a canvas lunch where he pitched North Carolina voters on his plan to make everyday costs cheaper just days before Election Day. The Democratic candidate used the stop to repeat the central message of his statewide tour: groceries, health care, utilities, child care and housing have all gotten too expensive, and he says he has a plan to fix that.
WSOC-TV reported that Cooper made a cost-lowering promise during his Nov. 1 campaign stop in Concord. In a separate release about a Sept. 2 Concord gathering, his campaign said the event was meant to discuss how he would work in the U.S. Senate to make life more affordable for North Carolina families, according to a statement posted on roycooper.com. “I'll be a strong independent leader in the U.S. Senate focused on working with anyone I can to make stuff cost less,” Cooper said, per that statement.
Two local voices have backed Cooper's candidacy in Concord. Captain Carl McCullough, described by the campaign as a 28-year Navy veteran, voiced his support. The campaign identified Zach Erwin, a public school teacher and Kannapolis native, as a supporter at a Sept. 2 Concord event. Cooper's plans, as outlined by his campaign, target the cost of food and groceries, health care, utilities, child care and housing.
A Closing Argument Built Around Affordability
Concord was one stop among several as Cooper closed out his campaign. Days before the Concord event, Cooper campaigned at Little Rock AME Zion Church in uptown Charlotte, where, according to WFAE, he said he would work with President Donald Trump when possible but would stand up to the president or members of his own party when he disagrees with them. “The people will come before politics. The people will come before party. The people will come before power,” Cooper told the Charlotte crowd.
Cooper also brought his tour to the Ivy Community Center in Durham, urging supporters there to take nothing for granted. Per ABC11, Cooper told Durham voters he would work to roll back tariffs, end the war in Iran and stop health insurers from blocking needed care if elected. He also reminded the crowd of the math working against him historically: “We haven't elected a Democrat since 2008, and we've only elected two Democrats in almost 40 years,” Cooper said, according to the same report.
Whatley Counters With Vance in Kinston
Cooper's Republican opponent, Michael Whatley, held his own campaign event in Kinston, where he was joined by Vice President JD Vance, the outlet's report noted. The dueling events underscored just how close both campaigns see the race, with early voting already well underway across the state.
More than 1.7 million North Carolinians had cast ballots since early voting began on October 15, according to WFAE's reporting from earlier in the week. The outlet also reported that recent polls showed Cooper leading Whatley by as many as 13 percentage points, though other surveys have shown a tighter race. High Point University polling cited by CNBC found Cooper's lead had narrowed to five points by August, down from an eight-point edge in April.
Why Cabarrus County Matters
Concord sits in Cabarrus County, a longtime Republican stronghold that has nonetheless been trending less red in recent presidential cycles. Donald Trump won the county by nearly 20 percentage points in 2016, but that margin fell to 7.6 points in 2024, according to CNBC's analysis. That shift helps explain why a Democratic Senate candidate would make a point of campaigning there in the campaign's final stretch.
With Election Day approaching, both parties are treating affordability as the defining issue of the race, even as they disagree sharply on who is positioned to deliver it. Cooper's campaign is betting that his message resonates even in traditionally conservative areas like Cabarrus County, while Whatley and Vance are working to shore up Republican turnout in eastern parts of the state.
