”Roy Cooper has pulled a bit of a political magic trick — he won twice on the same ballot that elected Donald Trump,” said Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University who has no relation to the governor. If Harris is the presidential nominee, Cooper could bring an air of political balance to a ticket, said Doug Heye, Washington-based Republican strategist from North Carolina and former communications director for the Republican National Committee. Cooper could run for a U.S. Senate seat in North Carolina in 2026, when incumbent Republican Thom Tillis is up for reelection — but Cooper has signaled no plans to do so.