Democrat Roy Cooper Captures Open North Carolina Senate Seat in Costly, High-Stakes Race
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Roy Cooper, former governor of North Carolina, won the state’s open U.S. Senate seat, giving Democrats their first Senate victory there since 2008 after a heavily funded and closely watched campaign.
Roy Cooper, who served as North Carolina governor from 2017 to 2024, has been declared the winner of the state’s open U.S. Senate seat, according to an Associated Press call. His victory gives Democrats an important Senate pickup in a state where Republicans have long been competitive.
Cooper defeated Michael Whatley, a former Republican National Committee chair who was selected by President Trump to replace retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis. The campaign drew significant funding from national Democratic groups, which outspent Whatley and other Republicans. In the weeks before the election, national GOP organizations shifted TV advertising dollars away from North Carolina to other battleground states, a strategic decision that reflected the broader map.
Cooper’s campaign emphasized affordability, branding his statewide stops as a "Make Stuff Cost Less" tour. Whatley focused on crime and immigration, and criticized Cooper for a COVID-era settlement that released inmates to ease prison overcrowding. Polls, however, indicated that the economy was the top concern for voters.
"Really it's the economy is Issue A and then Issue B is probably government corruption, that people are following the most," Republican strategist Patrick Sebastian said. "So when we're not talking about those issues, it's going to be hard to connect with people that go to Walmart for their groceries and can only get 80% of what they used to buy because the prices have gone up."
Whatley, making his first run for elected office, was portrayed by Cooper’s campaign as a lobbyist for Big Oil and a potential Trump-aligned rubber stamp in the Senate. Despite visits by President Trump and Vice President Vance to rally GOP voters, the Republican candidate never led in polling and his lead narrowed as the race progressed.
The race, initially expected to be one of the most competitive and expensive contests nationwide, concluded with Cooper’s decisive win, making him the first Democrat elected to the Senate from North Carolina since 2008.