EXCLUSIVE: Republicans rolling out "unprecedented vetting" to defend North Carolina Senate seat

Former Gov. Roy Cooper’s (D., N.C.) time teaching at Harvard University is over, and Republicans are welcoming his potential Senate candidacy with an “unprecedented vetting” campaign of him and of other North Carolina Democrats, according to plans obtained exclusively by the Washington Reporter.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) is already pulling out all the stops to defend their stranglehold on both Senate seats in North Carolina.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R., N.C.) is up for reelection in 2026. While Cooper is believed to be the most formidable possible Democrat, the NRSC’s vetting campaign will also include Attorney General Jeff Jackson and former State Senator Wiley Nickel, the NRSC told the Reporter.

“Republicans have held both North Carolina Senate seats for a decade now and the NRSC's work to ensure that streak continues has already begun,” Joanna Rodriguez, the NRSC’s Communications Director, explained.

“We will leave no stone unturned and give voters the chance to litigate every aspect of the Democrat candidates' records,” she continued. “In the end, whoever becomes the nominee will end in losses just like the disgraced Cal Cunningham and Cheri Beasley.”

The NRSC has already submitted over 200 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests pertaining to Cooper’s time in office, with a focus on both hurricane response and recovery efforts, his political associates’ dealings with state government, and other elements of state business.

The NRSC’s efforts also include FOIAs for Jackson with a focus on his time as attorney general and for Nickel with an emphasis on his time in the state Senate.

Some Republicans are eager for Democrats to nominate Jackson in particular — and told the Reporter that an incident in which the parents of Jackson’s 2022 opponent had their home shot at might not fade away from the campaign trail.