North Carolina

Called for D (flip)Open seatcloses 7:30 pm ET

Called · 58% in · Cooper +34

Who's running

Roy CooperD66.4% · 58% in

Roy Cooper grew up in Nashville, North Carolina, and worked at his family's law firm. He served in the state House and state Senate from 1987 to 2001. He was the state's attorney general for 16 years, then governor for two terms, from 2017 to 2025. He has not lost an election in almost 40 years, and he won the Democratic primary with 92 percent of the vote.

What they say they'll do

He wants to make groceries and everyday things cost less, and he opposes tariffs.
He wants to bring back health care tax credits and undo Medicaid cuts.
He wants data centers to pay the full cost of their power so families do not.

Michael WhatleyR32.0% · 58% in

Michael Whatley is a lawyer who has never held elected office. He worked in the George W. Bush administration at the Energy Department and later worked for energy companies. He ran the North Carolina Republican Party from 2019 to 2024, then was chairman of the national Republican Party and ran Trump's 2024 campaign operation. Trump picked him for this race, and he won the primary with about 65 percent of the vote.

What they say they'll do

He wants to push President Trump's plans, including tax cuts and a secure border.
He wants safer communities and backs police.
He wants more money in people's pockets and a strong military.

The tea ☕

The biggest attack on Cooper is about Iryna Zarutska, a refugee killed on a Charlotte train in 2025. Republicans say Cooper let her killer out of prison early under a COVID deal. Records show the man had already served his full sentence and was released five months before that deal. Fact checkers call the claim overblown, but a GOP super PAC is still spending $17 million on it.
At a rally in September, Trump said Cooper turned cities into 'blood-soaked killing fields.' Whatley's campaign has handed out 'Cooper for Criminals' signs.
When Whatley ran the state GOP, he put a man who had served six years in prison for crimes against minors on party committees more than once. A Democratic group is spending $2.3 million on ads about it. Whatley has not explained the appointments.
Trump made Whatley the 'recovery czar' for Hurricane Helene. Cooper's ads say Whatley is 'failing Western North Carolina' because federal aid has been slow. Whatley's ads say Cooper 'failed to show up' after the storm.
As of mid-September, the two had not agreed to a single debate. That would make it the first North Carolina Senate race since 1998 without one.
This seat is open because Sen. Thom Tillis quit his reelection bid in June 2025 after Trump threatened to run someone against him over a vote.

Sources

North Carolina House seats: 1 D, 0 R, 13 pending