2026 Senate Race Underway; LCV Strongly Endorses Cooper for US Senate

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Action Fund has endorsed former NC Governor Roy Cooper for election to the US Senate representing North Carolina.

“North Carolinians know firsthand the devastating impact of extreme weather and pollution on families, and Roy Cooper will fight to protect North Carolinians in the Senate as he did as governor,” said LCV Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Tiernan Sittenfeld. “People across the country are facing rising energy costs and continued threats to our environment and our fundamental rights — it’s more important than ever to have champions like Roy Cooper in the Senate who will help ensure we all can have a more healthy and just future.” 

“As we approach the anniversary of Hurricane Helene, we appreciate Roy Cooper’s strong leadership during and after that devastating disaster. We need someone in Washington who understands the increasing threat extreme weather poses to lives and livelihoods across our state,” said NCLCV Executive Director Carrie Clark. “At the same time, he led the creation of North Carolina’s thriving clean energy economy and made us the top state in the country in rural clean energy jobs. These are just a few of the many reasons Roy Cooper is the leader North Carolina needs in the U.S. Senate.”

Roy Cooper’s Record

After serving as a member of the NC General Assembly for 14 years, Roy Cooper was first elected in 2000 as NC Attorney General, a post he held through four consecutive terms until 2016. It was as Attorney General that Cooper first made an environmental name for himself, championing clean air in lawsuits against polluters in other states for their part in deteriorating air quality in North Carolina. He also played a leadership role in supporting the adoption of North Carolina’s Clean Smokestacks Act, landmark state legislation which greatly strengthened emissions controls on coal-fired power plants in North Carolina. 

As Governor of NC from 2017 through 2024, Cooper expanded his well-earned reputation as an environmental leader, passing major initiatives on environmental justice, clean energy, and climate action, through both executive orders and bipartisan legislative initiatives. The NC League of Conservation Voters (NCLCV) consistently endorsed Cooper in his statewide office runs.

The U.S. Needs Cooper’s Leadership

In announcing NCLCV’s endorsement for Cooper during his second and final run for NC Governor, NCLCV Executive Director Clark said, “Gov. Cooper’s environmental leadership has been a breath of fresh air for every North Carolinian.” 

The U.S. Senate badly needs that fresh air, and LCV is betting on Roy Cooper to deliver it.

Cooper’s Opponent

By comparison, Cooper’s opponent Michael Whatley, is a former oil and gas lobbyist. Whatley was a founding partner at HBW Resources, a DC public relations and lobbying firm focused on energy policy, where he worked for 15 years. During that time, he also served as executive vice president of the Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), a nonprofit created and operated by HBW. Watchdogs have described CEA as a front group for the fossil fuel industry, noting its campaigns for fracking, offshore drilling, and the Keystone XL pipeline, as well as its efforts to block climate regulations like low-carbon fuel standards. Additionally, an affiliated group that was operated by HBW and CEA staff, the Outer Continental Shelf Governors Coalition, advocated for Atlantic offshore drilling, including off the coast of North Carolina. 

More recently, Whatley was named by President Trump as chair of a FEMA Review Council and recovery czar for western NC following Hurricane Helene, which has been a total failure. So far, North Carolina has received a tiny fraction of the relief funds past storms have merited. In total, federal support to date amounts to approximately 9% of the total damage western North Carolina suffered. By comparison, storms that were similarly devastating – such as Hurricanes Katrina, Maria, and Sandy – saw more than 70% of the cost of recovery efforts covered by federal funding.