RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Attorney General Roy Cooper has a clear ride to another four years as North Carolina's top law enforcement job after no one filed to run against the Democrat.

The State Board of Elections reports on its web site that only Cooper turned in candidacy papers for attorney general by the filing deadline at noon Wednesday. Barring an unlikely bid by an independent candidate, Cooper will be elected to a fourth four-year term.

The former state legislator from Rocky Mount faces no opposition despite negative publicity in 2010 about past shortcomings at state crime lab involving the testing of blood evidence. Cooper has otherwise been a popular statewide candidate who has been mentioned frequently as a future candidate for governor or U.S. Senate.