华盛顿的民主党人在这轮中期选举竞选周期早期曾认为，前北卡罗来纳州州长罗伊·库珀将是他们最大的招募战果，他们正试图开辟一条曾经难以想象的通往参议院多数党的道路。
Democrats in Washington believed early in the midterm campaign cycle that former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper would be their biggest recruiting win as they tried to forge a once-unthinkable path to a Senate majority.
11月4日周二，该州选民印证了他们的信心，让库珀赢得了他第七次全州选举胜利，这一次他击败了唐纳德·特朗普总统亲自挑选的共和党候选人迈克尔·沃特利，从而翻转了一个关键席位，帮助民主党拿下参议院多数党地位。
His state's voters ratified their confidence Tuesday, November 4, giving Cooper his seventh statewide electoral victory, this time over President Donald Trump's handpicked Republican candidate Michael Whatley, to flip a key seat and help Democrats take a majority in the chamber.
这一结果证实了库珀在一个过去三次总统选举中都支持特朗普的北卡罗来纳州选民群体中的吸引力。但总统的声望已经下滑，而曾任州共和党主席和全国共和党主席的沃特利始终没能在竞选活动中站稳脚跟。在几乎全部选票清点完毕后，库珀领先沃特利近20个百分点。
The result affirms Cooper's appeal across a North Carolina electorate that backed Trump in the last three presidential elections. But the president's standing has fallen and Whatley, the former chairman of the state and national party, was never able to find his footing on the campaign trail. With nearly all the votes counted, Cooper led Whatley by nearly 20 percentage points.
“今晚，我们向全国表明，当普通民众团结起来时，我们就能带来改变，”库珀在罗利对一群情绪高涨的支持者说。他承诺将立即在华盛顿着手解决生活成本可负担性问题，这也是他竞选的核心议题。
"Tonight, we showed the country that when everyday people come together, we can make change," Cooper told a crowd of energetic supporters in Raleigh, pledging to get straight to work in Washington on affordability, which he centered his campaign on.
库珀表示，他将推动降低汽油和食品杂货价格、结束伊朗战争，并打击腐败和特殊利益集团，承诺在北卡罗来纳州做一个独立的声音。他的演讲引用了《圣经》，并谈及该州历史。
Cooper said he would push to lower the cost of gas and groceries, end the war in Iran, and take on corruption and special interests, promising to be an independent voice for North Carolina in a speech that drew on the Bible and touched on the state's history.
“我去华盛顿不是为了谋个身份；我去华盛顿是为了做实事，”69岁的库珀说，引来人群热烈欢呼。
"I'm not going to Washington to be something; I'm going to Washington to do something," Cooper, 69, said to rousing cheers from the crowd.
库珀将接替共和党参议员汤姆·蒂利斯。蒂利斯去年因在特朗普标志性的“大而美法案”上与总统发生冲突，选择不再寻求第三个任期。这场争执让共和党失去了一位原本可能更难被民主党拉下马的现任议员，而蒂利斯如今已成为对总统越来越直言不讳的批评者。
Cooper will succeed Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who opted not to seek a third term after clashing with Trump over his signature "big beautiful bill" last year. The feud helped cost Republicans an incumbent who may have been tougher for Democrats to dislodge, and Tillis has emerged as an increasingly outspoken critic of the president.
尽管该州通常选举民主党人担任州长，但通常会派共和党人进入参议院。库珀是自2008年以来北卡罗来纳州首位当选的民主党参议员，也是过去50年来仅有的第四位。
Although the state routinely elects Democrats as governor, it usually sends Republicans to the Senate. Cooper is North Carolina's first Democratic senator-elect since 2008 and just the fourth in the last 50 years.