Staff Reports
Voters in North Carolina are getting a fresh reminder that ideas have consequences — and that the campaign to replace a Democratic governor with a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate is suddenly a referendum on public safety. Opponents are now pairing a long list of criminal-justice recommendations with a new revelation about Roy Cooper’s actions during the chaotic 2020 protests to make a single point: this is a soft-on-crime playbook, and it matters at the ballot box.
The campaign twist: evacuation claim fuels “soft on crime” attack
What changed the tone of the 2026 Senate race was a May 2026 report that says Roy Cooper — now the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate — was evacuated from the Executive Mansion during the May 30–31, 2020 unrest in Raleigh. Republicans, led by Michael Whatley and legislative leaders like Phil Berger and Speaker Destin Hall, have seized on that account. They pair it with the Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice, or TREC, which Cooper created in 2020, to argue he favored policies that weaken law enforcement when the state needed them most.
What the TREC report says — and who signed on
A 166-page document with 125 recommendations
The TREC final report runs 166 pages and offers 125 recommendations. It was co-chaired by then‑Attorney General Josh Stein, now Governor of North Carolina, and Anita Earls, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina. The report famously says, “North Carolina can reimagine public safety.” That reimagining includes more non‑police crisis responders, wider use of citations instead of arrests, revised roles for school resource officers, expanded diversion and restorative justice programs, and changes to pretrial practices including ending cash bail in places.
Policy reality or campaign theater?
Those ideas are not just academic. Some jurisdictions moved toward parts of the TREC agenda, and critics point to real harms when bad actors keep getting out of jail. The high-profile murder of Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light rail — and the legislature’s later passage of Iryna’s Law to curb cashless-bail policies — has become a cautionary tale in the GOP playbook. At the same time, the legislature responded to the 2020 unrest by strengthening anti‑riot penalties, showing the state split between a reform agenda and a tougher line promoted by Republicans.
What voters should demand before Election Day
This is a simple test for voters: ask the candidates for specifics. Roy Cooper needs to explain which TREC recommendations he personally pushed to implement and why he thought they were safe. Michael Whatley and GOP leaders should point to clear examples tying TREC recommendations to specific crime spikes — not just political rhetoric. Public safety is not a slogan. It is about facts, police capacity, and accountability. If campaigns are going to make the case that a 166‑page report and an evacuation story equal a reckless governing philosophy, they should at least show their math. The people of North Carolina deserve answers — not more talking points.
