Election 2026: Roy Cooper ad tested by fact check

(The Center Square) – Doubling down on healthy poll leads in North Carolina, U.S. Senate candidate Roy Cooper on Tuesday released a campaign advertisement touting his record on public safety.

A primary criticism of Cooper is a “soft on crime” record, and the advertisement appears to be a counter measure. A fact check of his statements by The Center Square, however, found multiple issues.

Cooper, the choice of Democrats, is on the Nov. 3 ballot with Republican Michael Whatley and Libertarian Shannon Bray. Absentee ballots go into the mail 10 weeks from Friday; Election Day is just under 19 weeks away.

In the 30-second spot, Cooper says, “Keep your family safe and lock up criminals – that’s what most North Carolinians want. And it’s not too much to ask. As your attorney general, I put drug dealers, rapists and murderers in prison and kept them there. As your governor, I toughened bail laws, went after drug dealers pushing fentanyl and said, ‘no way do we defund...