Overview:
• Cooper visited Fayetteville for his “Make Stuff Cost Less” campaign tour.
• While Cooper has questions about the Iran war, he urges support for the troops fighting overseas. Fort Bragg soldiers are in the fight.
• He says electricity-hungry data centers should “pay their own way” with no costs passed to consumers.
With several thousand Fort Bragg soldiers deployed in the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Roy Cooper urged people to support the troops even if there are questions about the military operations overseas.
“I am praying for the men and women—our troops—who are in Iran right now, and families who are preparing for their loved ones to go overseas,” Cooper said to more than 65 people gathered in Volta Space downtown on Tuesday for a campaign stop. “I’m deeply grateful for their courage. I’m grateful for the work that they have done thus far in eliminating some of the leaders and damaging some of the weapons of an evil and oppressive regime.
“There are differences of opinions on this war, and I know that I’m deeply concerned about what are the reasons that we got in it, and what the exit strategies are to get out,” he said. “But one thing I do know: When our troops are there, we need to do everything we can to support and protect them.”
Fort Bragg has the 82nd Airborne Division, United States Army Special Operations Command, United States Army Western Hemisphere Command, and other operations and units. Bragg personnel from the 3rd Battalion 27th Field Artillery Regiment fired the first missiles of the operation, the Pentagon said. And thousands of 82nd Airborne paratroopers have been sent to the war zone.
‘Tough, Close Race’
Cooper—who is a former state lawmaker, attorney general, and governor—faces Libertarian Shannon Bray and Republican Michael Whatley in the November election. Whatley is a former chair of the Republican National Committee and North Carolina Republican Party, and has been endorsed by President Donald Trump. The winner of the election will succeed Republican Sen. Thom Tillis.
Polling from March 13 to April 1 has shown Cooper from 3 to 14 points ahead of Whatley. But voters won’t start casting ballots until absentee and early voting start in September and October. Cooper noted that North Carolina hasn’t elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 2008.
“This shows you that this is going to be a tough, close race,” Cooper said. “And I need every one of you to step up and do what you can do to make sure that we win this race.”
Republicans on Monday committed $71 million to the race, he said.
Cooper’s stop was part of his “Make Stuff Cost Less” tour, which the campaign said has previously visited several other cities. The message echoes Trump’s 2024 election campaign, which harped on inflation and high gasoline prices during Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration.
Analysts have said tariffs that Trump imposed on imported goods over the past year have boosted prices for Americans. Since the war against Iran began in late February and curtailed much of the world’s supply of oil, the average price of gasoline in North Carolina has risen from about $2.74 per gallon on March 1 to about $3.90 per gallon now, according to Gas Buddy fuel price tracking data.
Tariffs, Prices, Health Care, Data Centers
With the theme of lowered prices, Cooper listed items he would address in the Senate, including:
- The military. Cooper said he will support active duty military and veterans as they face higher prices in everyday life, and cuts in services from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
- Trump’s tariffs. Cooper said he wants to address the “chaotic and erratic” tariffs.
- Food prices. “We need to make it harder for grocery stores to merge, because we know that that is decreasing competition and driving up prices.”
- Health care. Cooper highlighted that North Carolina expanded Medicaid-funded health care under his administration, which added 720,000 people to Medicaid in the state, he said. In December, enhanced federal subsidies that helped make Affordable Care Act health insurance more affordable ended. Cooper said 200,000 North Carolinians dropped their ACA plans because they couldn’t afford it. Those that stayed with the ACA had to pay more for less coverage.
During a brief session with the news media after his speech, Cooper spoke about data centers, which have stirred controversy in the county as the Fayetteville City Council and Cumberland County Board of Commissioners consider creating ordinances addressing them. Members of the public have been worried about their high electricity consumption—especially as electricity prices are rising—their use of water, and other effects.
“It is critical that data centers pay their own way and that no costs are passed on to consumers whatsoever,” Cooper said. “And local governments should have control over the situation and have input into the situation about where they are.”
Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.
Did you find this story useful or interesting? It was made possible by donations from readers like you to the News Foundation of Greater Fayetteville, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization committed to an informed democracy in Fayetteville and Cumberland County.
Please consider making a tax-deductible donation so CityView can bring you more news and information like this.
