U.S. Senate Democratic Candidates

Daryl Farrow

Daryl Farrow is a Democrat running for election to the United States Senate. Born in Trenton, North Carolina, he is a graduate of Kansas State University who also attended local community colleges in North Carolina’s Lenoir and Craven Counties. He is a husband, father and businessman according to the Henderson County Democratic Party.

Justin Dues

Justin Dues is running to be the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate. If Dues wins the primary on March 3 he will face off against a Republican candidate in the general election in November. 

Dues previously ran to represent North Carolina’s 8th congressional district in 2024, but lost to Mark Harris by 19 points. Dues said that campaign introduced him to the process of running for Congress and influenced him to run for the Senate during this election cycle. 

“That's part of the reason I switched to the Senate race, because you can't gerrymander out an entire state, whereas you can gerrymander 14 districts within it,” Dues said. 

The policy positions Dues is running on can be understood by the acronym ACT which stands for affordability, ending corruption and togetherness. Dues said including measures for living wages, tackling political corruption and working as one group are part of his plan for ACT. 

“The ACT is saying democracy is not a spectator sport,” Dues said. “For so long, I hoped voting for the people I wanted to was enough but I'm realizing you've got to get involved; and that doesn't necessarily mean everybody has to run for office, but volunteering for campaigns, or the school boards or county commissions.”

Before stepping into the political sphere Dues served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 9 years. This experience has led him to be an opponent of the military industrial complex and a supporter of ending ‘forever wars.’ After the Marine Corps, Dues entered the private sector, where he says he got an inside look at how corporations operate. Dues said corporations which are being taxed 21% are not paying their fair share. 

Dues’ campaign is not accepting any donations over $200 or from political action committees. He said he is trying to distinguish himself from other candidates running in the primary by being anti-establishment and anti-status quo.

“I think people want transparency, and they want authenticity,” Dues said. “Right now, I don't think Democrats are offering a lot of that. They're not offering a vision. And that's where, again, I'm running on a clear platform of affordability, anti-corruption, and solving big problems together.” 

Roy Cooper

Former Governor Roy Cooper’s political career spans over 40 years and features positions in the North Carolina Senate and House of Representatives as well as 16 years as attorney general and, most recently, four years as North Carolina’s 75th Governor. Now, he has his sights set on the nation’s capital. 

“I’m ready to go to Washington to be an independent voice for North Carolina families, where I’ll work every day to support more good paying jobs, make health care more affordable, and lower costs for people who are trying to make ends meet,” Cooper said in a Feb. 12 press release. 

Cooper's running on a platform of protecting North Carolina’s middle class, specifically through lowering the cost of living, promoting affordable healthcare and calming down the political frenzy he feels Washington D.C. has become. 

“Things cost too much,” Cooper said in a recent YouTube video on his official channel titled ‘Roy Cooper Answers Your Most Burning Questions.’ “Not enough people have healthcare and there’s too much chaos in Washington. I knew I needed to step up for my country.”

Growing up as the son of a public school teacher and small-town lawyer and farmer, Cooper often cites his middle-class roots to connect with voters. 

“DC politicians may not be used to worrying about how much their health insurance costs, but most folks worry about it every day,” Cooper said in a Dec. 11 press release. 

He prioritizes the average American family and says that he would fight for the average citizens’ best interests as a Senator. 

“The decisions we make in the next election will determine if we even have a middle class anymore,” Cooper said in his official campaign video, in reference to the growing income deficit across North Carolina. 

Cooper has also said he’ll work to protect reproductive rights, stating in a Jan. 22 press release “as senator, I’ll fight to keep politicians out of the exam room so these decisions can be made between a woman and her doctor.” 

As a Democrat working with a Republican majority in the state legislature as governor, Cooper prioritized bipartisan bills. This included an agreement to expand Medicaid for the benefit of over 600,000 North Carolinians, which Cooper said in his YouTube video is the greatest accomplishment of his career. 

Cooper did not respond to Elon News Networks’ request for comment. 

Robert Colon

Robert Colon is running to be the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate. If Colon wins the Democratic primary on March 3 he will face off against a Republican candidate in the general election in November. 

Colon has run in the Democratic primary for Senate before. Colon said he has been traveling around the state to connect more with voters than he did in his previous campaign for the U.S. Senate. 

If he wins the primary and the general election, Colon said he would work and listen to everyone, regardless of party affiliation. He said he would not support legislation just because it aligns with what his party believes. 

“I'm putting the Constitution and my conscience first, my constituents second and my party third, because the party is a means to an end,” Colon said. 

Two of Colon’s biggest policy issues are crime and immigration. He said addressing the two issues needs to be done by the Constitution to ensure justice. On immigration, Colon said he disagrees with President Donald Trump’s handling of immigration and supports making the process less bureaucratic. 

“I also know that we're living in different times, and so I do have concerns about, for example, drugs coming into this country,” Colon said. “But even then, I still want to make sure that we're doing things by the Constitution. I feel that the President has gone too far, and what he's done with immigration trying to crack down on things. I would support less forceful measures.”

Another top issue for Colon’s campaign is tax reform and cutting down on spending. Colon said he sees the federal government taking on things which he feels is more for state governments to address. Colon also said he wanted to look at military spending in order to stop ‘endless wars.’ 

Marcus W. Williams

Marcus Williams is running in the Democratic primary for North Carolina’s open United States Senate seat. If he wins his primary on March 3, he will campaign against the winner of the Republican primary during the general election in November. 

Williams declined a phone interview with Elon News Network. 

Williams previously ran in the Democratic primary for North Carolina’s governor in 2024 and in the 2022 Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate.

Orrick Quick

Orrick Quick is one of the Democratic candidates running in the March 3, Democratic primary for North Carolina’s open United States Senate seat. If he wins the primary he will face off against the winner of the Republican primary in the general election in November. 

Quick was unavailable for an interview.

Quick is a pastor at New Covenant Church and this is Quick’s first time running for public office. 

Quick’s website lists multiple policy positions of his, such as curbing government overreach, ensuring everyone in America is granted due process and providing teachers with a baseline salary of $65,000.

On the website, Quick says working Americans pay taxes which fund the government, but the government does not provide the services they should be receiving. Quick lists services such as healthcare, education and economic mobility as ones that should be provided by the government. 

Quick has the slogan “no more lies” across his campaign website. The website states this motto means America does not need more control or fear from the government, instead they need accountability, transparency and economic justice. 

Also on the website, Quick makes a pledge that if elected he will confront corruption, restore the Constitution and return power to the people.