As North Carolina’s next election cycle takes shape, Durham voters are asking a simple question: who has actually used power to protect ordinary people when it mattered most? Roy Cooper’s record offers concrete answers. From issuing an executive order that stopped utility shutoffs during the pandemic to signing Medicaid expansion that opened health coverage to hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians, his policy choices have repeatedly centered families over industry convenience.

In a state where energy costs, medical debt and housing pressure strain household budgets, those decisions are not symbolic. They are measurable interventions that kept lights on, prescriptions filled and finances intact. For many in Durham, that record makes Cooper — thus far — the only candidate clearly demonstrating a willingness to put the people of North Carolina first.