North Carolina Senate race shifts focus as candidates vie for post of retiring incumbent
Democrat Roy Cooper and Republican Michael Whatley are the main contenders for North Carolina’s U.S. Senate seat after incumbent Thom Tillis announced he will not run again.
Second-term Republican Sen. Thom Tillis announced he will not seek re-election, turning North Carolina’s Senate seat into a headline race between Democrat Roy Cooper and Republican Michael Whatley. Cooper, a former governor, is campaigning on reducing prices for groceries, healthcare, energy, childcare and housing, and stresses his ability to work across party lines. Whatley, making his first run for elected office after serving as state GOP chair and RNC chairman, runs on a Trump-backed agenda that includes stricter immigration policies, public-safety measures and economic revitalization.
Campaign events have taken place in Wilmington and Gastonia, and polling shows independents leaning toward Cooper while Trump’s disapproval rating sits at a double-digit negative level. The race is part of a broader midterm contest for 35 Senate seats, with Republicans currently holding 53 seats in the chamber.
How this story developed
- Sep 18 New polls show Democrats closing in on Texas statewide races, sparking GOP alarm
- Sep 30 Recent polls show most registered voters treat voting as a duty, trust state election fairness, and remain divided on political figures.
- Oct 1 A former Republican pastor who switched to the Democratic Party, Rev. Adam Hamilton, is challenging incumbent Senator Roger Marshall as the Kansas Senate contest tightens.
- Oct 2 President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Paxton has prompted criticism from Republican centrists.
- Oct 3 The Senate Leadership Fund announced a shift of money from North Carolina to back Sen. Roger Marshall in Kansas.
- Oct 4 A new Iowa poll describes the Senate race as closely divided.
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