Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley campaigned in Gastonia Thursday morning, where he criticized Democratic opponent Roy Cooper over rising costs.
Surrounded by about two dozen supporters, Whatley spoke at air-tank manufacturer Trick Tank in Gastonia.
Whatley called Cooper a “fraud” and the “worst governor in the state’s history.” He also blamed Cooper for cost-of-living increases, even though Republicans have controlled the General Assembly since 2011.
“I mean, Roy Cooper made stuff cost more,” Whatley said. “You look at what he did over the course of his tenure — electricity rates were 30% higher, and housing costs were 85% higher.”
Housing costs have increased across much of the Sun Belt, which continues to gain more people than other parts of the country.
Cooper's campaign said the former governor signed budgets that lowered taxes and it criticized Whatley for being a lobbyist for having Duke Energy as one of its clients.
Whatley didn’t talk about the sharp increase in gas prices this spring and summer, driven by President Donald Trump’s war with Iran. Oil hit $100 a barrel again Thursday after Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen attacked shipping in the Red Sea.
When asked whether he supports Trump’s attacks against Iran, given those costs, Whatley said he does.
“I absolutely support the president’s decision to ensure that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,” he said. “That is absolutely the highest threat that we have anywhere in the world right now and he took decisive action to prevent that.”
He also criticized Cooper for a COVID-era legal settlement that allowed more than 4,000 state inmates to be released early to ease crowding in prisons. Some of those released later committed murders.
Cooper has said his administration fought the release in court and that he only released prisoners nearing the end of their sentences. The Cooper campaign has also noted that the Trump administration also released some federal prisoners during the pandemic.
Whatley blamed Cooper for the early release of Decarlos Brown, who is accused of murdering Iryna Zarutska on Charlotte’s Lynx Blue Line a year ago. Brown’s name was on the list of inmates released early as part of the settlement.
But Brown had already been released before the settlement was finalized, and the Cooper campaign has said he was allowed to be included in the legal agreement even though he was already out of prison.
Most polls have shown Cooper with a near double-digit lead in the race.
Former Gov. Roy Cooper was also in Gastonia Thursday, speaking to supporters.
Cooper, the Democratic nominee, spoke about affordability and what he called the "chaos of the federal government" to his supporters in Gastonia. He did not refer to Trump by name, but said he would stand up to the president, unlike his opponent.
“The problem with Michael Whatley is that he will do and say whatever this president tells him to do and say, regardless of whether it’s good for North Carolina or the country,” Cooper said.
Polls have consistently shown Cooper ahead, though margins have varied from double digits to low single digits.
