Roy Cooper tries to turn tide on crime attacks with new ad

Roy Cooper just released a new ad. It’s not about his record, his ideas, or what he’d actually do in the Senate. It’s about linking Michael Whatley to a registered sex offender who once worked inside the North Carolina GOP. That tells you everything: Cooper is losing the crime argument and he knows it.

Here’s the part the ad won’t tell you. Harvey Lee West was required to register after a conviction, and the party took action once they knew. Whatley didn’t hire him to run anything. He didn’t champion him. He was a volunteer in the ranks, and the story is being stretched into something it isn’t. This is what a desperate campaign looks like when the other side has you on the ropes over public safety. Attack the person, not the problem.

North Carolina voters are not stupid. They watched crime climb under Cooper’s watch, and they’ve heard Whatley talk about backing law enforcement. A 30-second spot about a party administrator’s distant connection won’t change that math. It’s a distraction, plain and simple. If Cooper wants to run on crime, he should run on his record. That’s precisely why he won’t.