Roy Cooper - Political Career

Political Career

After practicing law with his family's law firm for a number of years, Cooper was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1986 and named to the North Carolina Senate in 1991. In 1997, he was elected Democratic Majority Leader of the state Senate. He continued to practice law as the managing partner of the law firm Fields & Cooper in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

Cooper was elected North Carolina Attorney General in November 2000 and took office on January 6, 2001; he was re-elected for a second term in 2004. Cooper was mentioned as a possible Democratic candidate for North Carolina governor in 2008, but he decided to run for re-election as Attorney General instead. He was easily re-elected, garnering more votes than any other statewide candidate in the November 2008 elections. Both state and national Democrats attempted to recruit him to run against Republican Senator Richard Burr in 2010, but he declined.

Cooper's third term has been highlighted by controversy surrounding the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. He was speculated as a possible candidate for Governor of North Carolina in 2012 after incumbent Governor Bev Perdue announced her retirement, Cooper declined to run. His political consultant announced in 2011 that Cooper would seek a fourth term in 2012. He is unopposed in both the Democratic primary and the general election.

Cooper argued his first case before the United States Supreme Court, J. D. B. v. North Carolina, in 2011. The Court ruled 5–4 against North Carolina.

In the November 2012 elections, Cooper ran unopposed and will be serving another term. According to the North Carolina Board of Elections, Cooper received 2,803,766 votes.