Roy Cooper and Michael Whatley won primaries to face off in North Carolina's crucial Senate race
This race is central to the battle for Senate control, with Republicans defending their majority
Trump endorsed Whatley and played a key role in his candidacy
Whatley ran controversial ads linking Cooper to a violent crime against a Ukrainian refugee
Cooper has significantly outraised Whatley financially with $14.2 million in the bank
📖 Full Retelling
In response to Whatley's attacks, Cooper's campaign highlighted his record as attorney general in prosecuting violent criminals and his signing of tougher bail and pretrial release laws as governor in 2023. Cooper has focused his campaign on affordability issues, launching a 'Make Stuff Cost Less' tour following the primary. Financially, Cooper holds a significant advantage, having raised $21.1 million with $14.2 million in the bank as of February 11, compared to Whatley's $6.3 million raised with $2.5 million on hand. This race comes amid a political landscape where Trump won North Carolina by 3 percentage points in 2024, setting the stage for a competitive contest that could help determine the balance of power in the Senate for years to come.
🏷️ Themes
Senate Control, Campaign Strategies, Political Endorsements, North Carolina Politics
Roy Asberry Cooper III ( KUUP-ər; born June 13, 1957) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 75th governor of North Carolina from 2017 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 50th attorney general of North Carolina from 2001 to 2017 and served in the North Carolina General As...
Michael David Whatley (born 1968 or 1969) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 66th chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC) from 2024 to 2025. He previously served as chair of the North Carolina Republican Party from 2019 to 2024, the last year of which he also served a...
Democrat Roy Cooper and Republican Michael Whatley set to face off in key North Carolina Senate race The Democratic former governor and the former Republican National Committee chair will help determine the Senate majority in 2027. Republican Michael Whatley and Democrat Roy Cooper will face off for an open Senate seat in North Carolina in November. Getty Images Share Add NBC News to Google March 3, 2026, 8:37 PM EST By Bridget Bowman Listen to this article with a free account 00:00 00:00 The matchup is set in North Carolina's crucial Senate race, with Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper and former Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley winning their primaries, NBC News projects. The North Carolina race will be central to this year’s battle for the Senate as Republicans defend their 53-47 majority. It’s a must-win race for Democrats if they have any hope of netting the four seats they need to take control of the chamber. Democrats are confident that Cooper will be a formidable candidate after he won races for governor in 2016 and 2020 even as President Donald Trump carried the state. Trump also won the state in 2024, by 3 percentage points. Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump, a North Carolina native, passed on running to replace retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis. So Republicans turned to Whatley, who was chairman of the Republican National Committee at the time and had previously led the North Carolina GOP. Trump encouraged Whatley to run and endorsed his campaign when he launched in late July. And the RNC gave Whatley an early boost by approving the national party to spend resources helping his campaign, even though he had not yet won the primary. Whatley, who tied himself to Trump in the early stages of the race, touted that endorsement in the run-up to Tuesday’s primary, launching a TV ad featuring Trump saying of Whatley that it is “so important that he wins” and that he “represents your values.” Whatley also launched an ad on streaming services ahead of ...
