Undercover Video Shows Cooper Declining Anti-Socialist Pledge in North Carolina Senate Race
Roy Cooper, the Democratic Senate nominee in North Carolina, said he sees no need to sign a moderate-backed pledge repudiating socialism, arguing his party needs a wide spectrum as it faces a shrinking Republican Party and internal loyalty tests.
Roy Cooper, the Democratic nominee for North Carolina's open Senate seat, said he will not sign a moderate-backed pledge repudiating socialist positions, according to undercover video obtained by Fox News Digital. The former two-term governor argued that his party should welcome a broad range of voices rather than enforce ideological litmus tests.
«I don't see any need to,» Cooper said when asked whether he would sign the Promise to America, a statement circulated by moderate Democrats rejecting socialist stances. «I think the party needs a wide spectrum, particularly at a time when the Republican Party is shrinking and having all kinds of loyalty tests. I think we need to have all kinds of folks to be a part of our party.»
The comments come as Cooper campaigns to fill the seat of retiring Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican, in a state that has historically leaned Republican in federal elections. His refusal to sign the pledge raises questions about whether moderate Democrats believe their platforms can coexist with the aims of the Democratic Socialists of America, a group that has backed a wave of candidates in recent primaries.
The DSA espouses positions including abolishing the U.S. Senate, establishing public ownership of corporations and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to its website. The group describes a society in which «you have no debt, you don't need health insurance, you don't pay a mortgage or have a landlord, because comfortable housing is a human right,» and where retirement is publicly funded and food, education, energy, medicine and transportation are treated as common goods rather than for-profit businesses.
Cooper is not affiliated with or endorsed by the DSA, and his campaign has emphasized his record of working with a Republican-controlled legislature during his tenure as governor from 2017 to 2025. He has pushed back on suggestions that he is tied to the group. «For the record, no,» he told the New York Times when asked whether he was a Communist. «I have a record of working across the aisle. The people of North Carolina know that I can be a senator that puts them first. Before power, before party, before politics.»
Asked whether Cooper's platform conflicts with the DSA's views, his campaign declined to comment directly, saying his commitments are reserved for his constituents. «The only pledge Roy makes is to the people of North Carolina. Roy is not a socialist and he will work with anyone, including Republicans, as he has done his entire career to lower costs for hardworking families and fight for North Carolina,» the campaign said.
Some Republicans remain skeptical. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said moderates are afraid to challenge their progressive flank as far-left candidates gain ground in the 2026 midterm primaries. «That dynamic is dangerous right now because they are terrified of the extreme left,» Cruz said at an energy summit hosted by Club for Growth and Arnold Ventures. «Finding a middle ground on ideological issues right now is … the prospects for success, particularly between now and election day, are not high.» He added that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is «truly terrified right now.»
In the video interview, Cooper said the party would only weaken itself if it fails to band together in opposition to the administration. «Particularly now when we're in such difficult straits and we're in a foxhole right now. We've all got to be together to take our government back,» he said. «We could fall to the autocracy, anytime we don't stick together. So, I don't see the need signing something.»
Cooper secured the Democratic nomination and now heads to the Nov. 3 general election, where he faces Republican nominee Michael Whatley, the former chair of the Republican National Committee. The race is expected to draw national attention as both parties test their messages in a competitive Southern state.
