Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper's Senate campaign has spent more than $277,000 on private security this election cycle, a figure that has prompted Republicans to accuse the Democratic hopeful of hypocrisy and advance claims of a "soft-on-crime" record.
Federal Election Commission records indicate that Cooper's campaign disbursed funds to two security firms: Foresight Solutions and Frontpoint. Foresight Solutions offers services including security assessments and workplace violence prevention, while Frontpoint markets home security systems.
The spending has become a focal point for GOP criticism, which has targeted Cooper's policies on policing, criminal justice reform, and his stance on immigration enforcement. Republicans have also referenced the killing of a refugee on a Charlotte light rail train, suggesting Cooper's criminal justice policies, including support for changes to cash bail, reflect a broader leniency toward crime.
"The issue on voters' minds isn't whether Roy Cooper or any other Democrat deems it necessary to keep themselves safe, but the issue is when he and other Democrats prioritize their own security while trying to hide from voters' their soft-on-crime records that threaten local communities," stated Republican strategist Mark Bednar, a former communications director for ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Bednar further asserted that Cooper's tenure as governor, during which he agreed to early releases of inmates and opposed cooperation between local law enforcement and immigration officials, demonstrates a pattern that will be evident to voters.
A spokesperson for Cooper's campaign countered the criticism, defending Cooper's public safety record and accusing his Republican opponent, Michael Whatley, of hypocrisy. The spokesperson highlighted Whatley's past appointment of an individual convicted of child sex offenses to a position within the North Carolina Republican Party and Whatley's advocacy for prisoner releases during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Cooper campaign also referenced Cooper's 16 years as North Carolina's attorney general and legislation signed during his governorship that aimed to facilitate prosecution of drug dealers, granted judges discretion to detain violent offenders before trial, and increased law enforcement salaries. They suggested that Republican criticisms regarding COVID-era inmate releases misrepresent Cooper's record, pointing to past criticisms from the North Carolina GOP under Whatley that Cooper had not done enough to address the pandemic within prisons.
Responding to the campaign's accusations, a spokesperson for Whatley stated that Cooper "chose to release thousands of convicted criminals back onto North Carolina’s streets instead of fighting in court." The spokesperson added that the consequences have been devastating.
This debate over security spending and criminal justice records is unfolding as Cooper campaigns for the Senate in a closely contested election year.