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Nov 3, 2026 · open seat

North Carolina — U.S. Senate

⭐ One of the eight competitive races expected to decide control of the Senate. Get caught up ↓

Roy Cooper
Roy Cooper
Democrat · Age 69

Two-term governor and 16-year attorney general. Has won six statewide races — never lost one.

Campaign website →
Michael Whatley
Michael Whatley
Republican · Age 58

Former Republican National Committee chair, recruited by President Trump. First run for office.

Campaign website →
Who's ahead? CookLIKELY DSabatoLEAN DDDHQLIKELY D
All three expect the seat to flip to Democrats. Ratings: Cook Political Report (Oct 6), Sabato’s Crystal Ball (Aug 26), Decision Desk HQ (Aug 28). Source →
Cooper
50
Whatley
43
East Carolina University poll of 810 likely voters, via RealClearPolling → Sept 30–Oct 3

Where they stand

Tap a topic that's important to you.

COOPER SAYS
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WHATLEY SAYS
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Money & campaign finance

Where each candidate stands on campaign-finance questions.

COOPER
WHATLEY
Yes Ban Congress from trading stocks No
Not stated Takes corporate PAC money Yes

Corporate PAC sources: Whatley: Chemours PAC $5,000 (WUNC)

Fundraising
RAISEDCASH ON HANDUNDER-$200 DONORS
Roy Cooper
$35M$20.7M14% of receipts
Michael Whatley
$11.3M$3.5M16% of receipts

Campaign committee totals for the 2025–26 cycle, through June 30, 2026. Under-$200 share is unitemized individual contributions divided by total receipts. FEC filings →

Their big promises

COOPER'S TOP 3
Make life affordable
His campaign centerpiece: lower costs on housing, groceries, energy, and child care.
Protect health care
Defend the Medicaid expansion he won as governor; extend ACA insurance subsidies.
Public schools first
Raise teacher pay and steer federal money to public schools over vouchers.
WHATLEY'S TOP 3
Back the Trump agenda
A reliable vote for the administration on taxes, energy, and judges.
Farms & factories
Champion North Carolina agriculture and manufacturing; recruit new plants to the state.
Law & order
More border enforcement and tougher sentencing; he attacks Cooper's record on crime.

Agree or differ?

Federal aid for Hurricane Helene recovery
Both want more federal money for western North Carolina's rebuild
AGREE
Support NC's military bases & veterans
Both campaign on Fort Bragg, Camp Lejeune, and veteran services
AGREE
Extend ACA health-insurance subsidies
Cooper: yes, warns of premium spikes · Whatley: sides with his party against the extension
DIFFER
Abortion
Cooper: vetoed NC's 12-week ban as governor · Whatley: anti-abortion, backed by national pro-life groups
DIFFER
Trump's tariffs
Cooper: blames them for rising costs on NC families · Whatley: defends them as leverage for U.S. jobs
DIFFER
School vouchers
Cooper: fought private-school vouchers for a decade · Whatley: supports school choice
DIFFER

Their stories

ROY COOPER
1957Born in Nashville, NC; worked his family's tobacco farm; became a small-town lawyer.
2000Elected attorney general; served 16 years, longer than anyone in state history.
2016Beat a sitting governor the same night Trump carried the state; won again in 2020.
2026Won the Democratic primary with 92% — aiming to be NC's first Democratic senator since 2015.
MICHAEL WHATLEY
1968Raised in Gaston County; law degree, then Washington jobs in the Bush administration.
2019Chaired the North Carolina Republican Party through two Trump campaigns.
2024Ran the Republican National Committee during Trump's winning campaign.
2025Recruited by Trump to run for Tillis's open seat.
2026Won the March 3 Republican primary with 64.6%.

The backstory

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis planned to run again, then dropped out after voting against Trump’s big tax-and-spending bill. That opened a seat in one of the closest swing states in the country.

Democrats recruited former Gov. Roy Cooper, who has won statewide many times. Trump backed Michael Whatley, who ran the Republican National Committee but has never run for office himself.

Cooper’s campaign is almost entirely about prices, under the slogan “Make Stuff Cost Less.” Whatley has built his around delivering Trump’s agenda, a harder sell as North Carolina voters sour on the president.

Cooper has led all year, and by October many analysts were calling it his race to lose. Whatley’s campaign has stopped buying TV ads, and the big Republican groups that spend on Senate races have pulled money out too. Campaigns usually spend the most in the final weeks, so pulling back now suggests Republicans think this seat is slipping away. Whatley says he still has the money he needs.

Early voting began in mid-October. Election Day is November 3.

Sources

  1. Roy Cooper · campaign website
  2. Michael Whatley · campaign website
  3. 2026 United States Senate election in North Carolina · Wikipedia (primary results, ratings)
  4. Cooper maintains double-digit lead · Elon University Poll, Sept 10, 2026
  5. Cooper leads with independents (AARP poll) · Newsweek, September 2026
  6. Major ranking moves NC’s Senate race to Lean D · Carolina Journal
  7. Whatley campaign retreats from airwaves while trailing · WRAL, Oct 8, 2026
  8. Cooper up big on Whatley as Trump approval sinks · WRAL, Oct 13, 2026
  9. Cooper, Whatley run ‘cautious campaigns’ · Spectrum News, Oct 13, 2026
  10. Federal Election Commission · candidate fundraising summaries
  11. East Carolina University poll of 810 likely voters, via RealClearPolling · poll, Sept 30–Oct 3
Positions summarized from campaign websites, voting records, and news reports (July 2026) · race data updated September 2026
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