Senate Dems are getting bullish about prized recruit Roy Cooper
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From left: Roy Cooper, Chuck Schumer and Gretchen Whitmer. Photos: Via Getty Images
Senior Democrats are increasingly convinced the party will land former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper to run for Senate next year, a potential coup for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
Why it matters: Both parties acknowledge their Senate success next year will largely rest upon their recruitment efforts this year.
- Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), has been personally involved in the effort to recruit Cooper, whom she's called a "formidable candidate," sources tell Axios.
- But Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has indicated she's passing on a Senate run, despite Schumer's direct appeals.
Zoom in: Cooper is unlikely to make a decision until June, a source familiar with his thinking tells Axios. Until then it's 50/50, the source said.
- Cooper is convinced he's his party's best chance to beat Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).
Democratic leaders are patiently waiting for prominent candidates to make decisions in Maine, Ohio and Texas.
- Maine Gov. Janet Mills hasn't ruled out a Senate bid to unseat Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). And there's always hope Rep. Jared Golden replicates his red-district magic statewide.
- Former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) is also considering a comeback bid, and former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) might give it another try in Texas.
Between the lines: Democrats are coalescing around Rep. Chris Pappas in New Hampshire, especially now that Rep. Maggie Goodlander has decided not to run.
- But in Michigan, with Whitmer out of the picture, a competitive primary is shaping up on the Democratic side. State Sen. Mallory McMorrow is already in the race, as is progressive Abdul El-Sayed. Rep. Haley Stevens entered the race on Tuesday.
- A spokesperson for the DSCC said Democrats are in a "strong position" to pummel Republicans on the campaign trail over "their toxic threats to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and the chaotic tariffs that will spike costs for families."
The other side: Republicans continue to cite Gov. Brian Kemp as their top recruit to knock off freshman Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) in Georgia. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has made an in-person appeal, as Axios scooped last week.
