North Carolina is set to host a pivotal U.S. Senate contest this fall, with former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper and ex-Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley securing their party’s nominations on Tuesday. Their victories establish a high-stakes battle that could ultimately determine which party controls the Senate.
Both Whatley and Cooper emerged triumphant from crowded primary fields, vying for the seat being vacated by Thom Tillis, who announced last June he would not seek a third term. Weeks after Tillis’s decision, the two candidates declared their intentions, largely bypassing intraparty rivals to focus their campaigns on each other.
Cooper’s entry into the race has invigorated Democrats, who are aiming to gain four seats to reclaim the Senate majority this year. Democrats view the most likely path as winning in North Carolina, Maine, Alaska and Ohio. Cooper, a popular two-term governor with 24 consecutive years in statewide office, is seen as a strong contender for Democrats.
Whatley, a former state GOP chairman, launched his campaign following an endorsement from President Donald Trump. This came after Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, opted not to run. Donald Trump has consistently won North Carolina in all three of his presidential elections.
Tillis’ decision not to seek a third term came as the president called publicly for a primary challenge to him because of his opposition to Trump’s big tax breaks bill, particularly for the Medicaid cuts contained within.
Cooper, 68, formally entered the race weeks later, as did Whatley, who was buoyed for the nomination by Trump’s backing.
While Cooper currently has a significant fundraising advantage so far over Whatley, both are skilled solicitors within the donor class of their respective parties. Political experts say a rush of outside money for and against the pair could make the race among the most expensive Senate campaigns in U.S. history.
A Democrat hasn’t won a Senate race in usually competitive North Carolina since 2008, but national GOP campaign strategists said Cooper makes the seat more difficult to hold.
Cooper hasn’t lost a North Carolina election going back to first running for the state House in the mid-1980s. But Democrats haven’t always translated their state government success to winning federal offices in the closely divided state.
Whatley, 57, lives outside of Charlotte. His career has included working in President George W. Bush’s administration, for then-North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole and as an oil and gas lobbyist.
Cooper and his allies have centered Whatley campaign attacks on his loyalty to the president and Trump policies that they say are raising costs on families or hurting poor people.
They’ve linked to Whatley the president’s tariffs, Medicaid spending reductions and the piecemeal distribution of aid by the Trump administration to mountain communities devastated by Hurricane Helene in 2024.
“I want to make sure that I’m a strong, independent senator who can work with this president when I can, stand up to him when I need to and recognize that people are struggling right now,” Cooper told supporters recently at a Raleigh voting site.
Whatley has continued to stick close to Trump, saying his initiatives are cutting taxes and wasteful spending and rebuilding U.S. military might in the world.
“I will be a true America First partner to President Trump and deliver real results for North Carolina families,” he said in a recent statement.
As a sign of Trump’s personal interest in the race, the president brought Whatley onto the stage at Fort Bragg to speak during an event to honor special forces members who stormed into Venezuela last month to oust former President Nicolás Maduro.
Whatley blames Cooper for promoting what he calls “an extreme radical-left ideology” that brought inflation and unfettered immigration.
Whatley, Trump and other Republicans have accused Cooper of promoting soft-on-crime policies while governor that have led to daily outcomes — in particular last August’s fatal stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light-rail train. The suspect had more than a dozen prior criminal arrests before his most recent charges.
Cooper rejects such accusations and in turn told reporters that he has a career of “prosecuting violent criminals and keeping thousands of them behind bars.”
