Roy Cooper’s failing grade

Roy Cooper was the worst governor in the history of North Carolina — and now he’s begging voters for a promotion.

Don’t give him one.

Cooper dedicated his 40 years in office to putting dangerous criminals ahead of the safety and security of North Carolinians. In the state legislature, Cooper voted to let drug traffickers, kidnappers, rapists and sex offenders out of prison.

As attorney general, Cooper failed to protect the victims of sexual assault time and time again, leaving more than 15,000 rape kits untested.

As governor, Cooper released over 4,000 hardened criminals from jail, launched an “equity” task force to replace police officers with social workers, appointed soft-on-crime judges who let offenders go free and turned North Carolina into a sanctuary for criminal illegal aliens. Iryna Zarutska and other innocent victims would be alive today had Cooper not released their killers.

His record on public safety is indefensible — just like his record of making life more expensive for North Carolinians.

Cooper’s love of taking more of your hard-earned money started early. In the state legislature, Cooper voted to raise taxes on North Carolinians 10 times, hiking costs on teachers, police officers, firefighters and even the families of deceased North Carolina military veterans.

As governor, Cooper oversaw the highest healthcare costs in the nation, higher electricity prices, higher housing costs and higher grocery costs. Even as he oversaw an economic catastrophe in his own state, Cooper was cheering on Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and they skyrocketed inflation to 40-year highs. He was also overseeing nearly $50 million in unemployment fraud, including to illegal aliens.

Then, when Republicans delivered the largest middle-class tax cut in history, Cooper called it a “disaster,” as it saved North Carolinians an average of $3,542 on their taxes, slashed taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security, and saved 184,000 jobs across the state — even as it preserved $17 billion in wages, invested $213 million in rural healthcare funding and launched Trump Accounts to help future generations achieve the American Dream.

While North Carolinians struggled, Cooper didn’t stop putting them last. After Hurricanes Matthew, Florence and Helene wreaked havoc on North Carolina, killing innocent people, destroying homes and wiping out communities, Cooper abandoned the victims.

Cooper blocked relief funds, mismanaged taxpayer dollars and left office with North Carolinians still picking up the pieces. His only response was to blame a “broken long-term recovery system” despite establishing the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency — a “taxpayer sham” plagued by massive deficits, yearslong delays and virtually nonexistent oversight of hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars.

When it comes to putting North Carolina first, Cooper earned a failing grade. He made our state less safe, more expensive and worse off.

As President Donald Trump returns to North Carolina to rally around commonsense candidates Michael Whatley, Laurie Buckhout and Jennifer Balkcom, remember our choice on Nov. 3.

Remember that more money in your pocket, a secure border, safe communities with criminals behind bars, and more opportunity for you and your family are exactly what Trump and Republicans promised — and it’s what they delivered.

Remember that Roy Cooper failed us for 40 years — and we should not give him the chance to fail us again.

Jason Simmons is North Carolina Republican Party chairman.