Cooper pitches cost-cutting agenda in Asheville
Roy Cooper speaks in Asheville March 18 as part of his “make stuff cost less” tour, outlining proposals to lower everyday costs as he campaigns for U.S. Senate.
Cory Vaillancourt photo
With grocery bills climbing and health care costs squeezing household budgets, former Gov. Roy Cooper is taking aim at the pocketbook issues he believes will define his U.S. Senate race against Republican Michael Whatley, framing his campaign as a direct response to what he calls an economy tilted against working families.
Speaking as part of his “make stuff cost less” tour, Cooper is centering his campaign on reducing everyday expenses, particularly food and medical care, while casting blame on corporate consolidation and federal policy decisions that he argues have driven prices higher.
“I'm running for people here in Western North Carolina who are still fighting to get their feet under them and to get back to where we were before, before this storm hit,” Cooper told about 150 people at River Arts District Brewing Company in Asheville March 18. “I'm running because of families who are frustrated with red tape and foot dragging by Washington, D.C., politicians who have forgotten Western North Carolina has been through a lot already.”
It was Cooper’s third campaign stop touting cost-control proposals and took on a more poignant tone than a typical stump speech — although RAD Brewing was largely spared the wrath of Hurricane Helene in September 2024, its neighbors and the greater Buncombe County community weren’t.
On food costs, Cooper’s plan leans heavily on curbing market power and rethinking trade policy.
He argues that destabilizing tariffs have placed added pressure on farmers, costs that ripple through the supply chain and ultimately land on consumers at grocery stores and restaurants. His approach calls for rolling back tariffs while strengthening antitrust enforcement to prevent large-scale mergers in grocery retail and food processing that can limit competition and push prices upward.
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Technology also features prominently in his critique. Cooper proposes banning the use of pricing algorithms that tailor grocery costs to individual consumers, as well as prohibiting digital coordination among companies that could artificially inflate prices or restrict supply.
The goal, according to his campaign framework, is to prevent increasingly sophisticated forms of price manipulation that disadvantage shoppers.
Health care represents the second major pillar of Cooper’s message, where he points to rising premiums, surprise billing and coverage denials as systemic failures that demand federal intervention.
The state of health care in the rural west is an even more concerning issue for many voters. In recent years, providers have shuttered their doors as the cost of health care coverage continues to increase. Drawing on his tenure as governor, Cooper highlighted bipartisan efforts that led to Medicaid expansion in North Carolina and positions that experience as a model for action in Washington. He contrasted that progress with recent federal actions he said have undermined affordability, arguing that failure to extend key subsidies has left many unable to purchase coverage or forced them into plans that cost more while offering less.
“All because the D.C. insiders in Washington are not putting health care first,” Cooper told The Smoky Mountain News. “We live in the richest country in the world. We’ve got to find a way to get affordable, quality health care to people across this country, and the Big Beautiful Bill goes backwards.”
His proposals in this area focused on shifting decision-making authority away from insurers and toward medical providers, aiming to reduce claim denials and administrative hurdles that can delay or prevent care.
Prescription drug pricing is another key target. Cooper supports expanding Medicare’s ability to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies, along with capping annual out-of-pocket costs for patients. At the same time, he’s proposing stricter oversight of hospital consolidation and pharmacy benefit managers, which he says have contributed to higher prices and reduced access, particularly in rural communities.
Additional measures outlined in his plan include limiting surprise billing by capping out-of-network charges, requiring greater transparency in pricing so patients can compare costs before receiving care and reducing medical debt through expanded access to charity care programs.
As the closely-watched race against Whatley begins to take shape, Cooper’s early messaging signals a campaign built around economic pressure points that resonate across party lines, with an emphasis on policy changes he argues would deliver immediate relief to North Carolina families.
A spokesperson for Whatley said he was tied up in meetings for the rest of the afternoon but did offer comment on the campaign’s behalf regarding a few of Cooper’s key assertions — namely that as everyday costs rise, Whatley’s policy positions, including past work connected to oil and energy interests, would translate into lower grocery prices and power bills in the near term.
"This race is choice between a career politician with a long record of supporting green new deal policies that increase energy costs and a first-time candidate who has worked for more and better energy exploration and infrastructure to support lower costs for working families," said Jonathan Felts. "The Green energy mandates supported by Roy Cooper throughout his tenure as Governor are neither affordable nor reliable. Increased energy infrastructure is critical to providing an affordable power supply but Roy Cooper killed a natural gas pipeline after his demands for a slush fund were not met. That pipeline would have helped expand base load electricity capacity to help keep rates down for working families."
A 2019 investigation by a joint General Assembly commission concluded Cooper did not personally benefit from any “slush fund” in the ACP pipeline permitting process, but did improperly use “the authority and influence of his office” to secure commitments from Duke and Dominion energy companies for a mitigation fund. Cooper officials dispute the accuracy of the report.
Felts also addressed ongoing concerns over Hurricane Helene recovery funding, including what has caused delays at the federal level and what responsibility rests with current leaders or agencies involved in the process. President Donald Trump named Whatley as Hurricane Helene “recovery czar” in early 2025, and Whatley has emerged as a frequent target of critics who point out that the state has only received 12% of the estimated $60 billion in federal recovery funding needed for damages across the state.
"The Trump Administration has delivered billions in federal relief for North Carolina, more than for any natural disaster in state history," Felts said. "Michael Whatley will continue to work with the Trump Administration to secure additional federal funds."
Felts said Cooper was in New York at a Green Energy New Deal summit when Hurricane Helene hit and "was slow to respond from day one."
Cooper, however, had declared a state of emergency two days before the storm — the same day he spoke in New York. After speaking, Cooper returned to North Carolina that same day.
