The National Republican Senatorial Committee turned up the heat on former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, releasing a new digital ad that accuses the Democrat of helping to force a radical gender agenda on the Tar Heel State as he runs for its open U.S. Senate seat.
The ad, which rolled out Monday, marks nine years since Cooper signed legislation to repeal North Carolina's HB 2 law, which required people in public buildings to use bathrooms that match the sex on their birth certificate.
The NRSC says Cooper's own words show exactly where he stood on the issue.
In clips featured in the ad, Cooper says, "It's important that we remove this horrible requirement that transgender people had to go to the restroom of their birth certificate."
He also calls House Bill 2 "one of the most discriminatory laws in the country … and it is wrong. Period."
In another segment, Cooper says, "House Bill 2 created a misguided, unworkable, and unnecessary requirement that individuals use the bathroom that matched the gender on their birth certificate."
The former governor goes even further in the ad, declaring, "And I could not tolerate having House Bill 2 be the law of the land in North Carolina. I could not tolerate it another minute."
The NRSC argues those remarks make clear Cooper was determined to dismantle protections meant to keep men out of women's bathrooms.
"For nearly 40 years, Roy Cooper has fought to transition North Carolina to Democrats' woke agenda," the NRSC's Regional press secretary, Nick Puglia, said in a statement. "Cooper promised the radical left he would ensure men could use women's bathrooms, and he delivered for they/them."
Cooper also says in the ad that HB 2 "is a stain on our great state's reputation, and it's got to be wiped out," underscoring his push to erase the law entirely.
The new ad suggests Republicans plan to make the bathroom fight and broader transgender issue a centerpiece in the high-stakes Senate race.
Cooper entered the race after Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., announced last June that he would not be running for reelection in 2026.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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