Roy Cooper

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley campaigned in Gastonia Thursday, and in 25 minutes of prepared remarks, he mentioned President Trump only twice.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley campaigned in Gastonia Thursday. Democratic candidate Roy Cooper also campaigned in Gaston County.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley held a news conference in Harrisburg on Friday, pledging to make public safety his focus if elected in November.

President Trump’s approval ratings have hit new lows. But Democrat Roy Cooper isn’t going there.Cooper, North Carolina’s U.S. Senate candidate, pretends Trump doesn’t exist. He criticizes “the federal government” or “the administration,” and he blasts by name his Republican opponent, Michael Whatley, Trump’s hand-picked candidate.

With the North Carolina primary over and done, get ready for the campaign leading to November. Get ready for a blizzard of advertising, particularly in the race for U.S. Senate. It is likely to be the most expensive Senate race in the country, with about half a billion dollars expected to be spent. In a world where people are entrenched in their ideologies, how do you convincingly use that money?

Turnout in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary was up 30% from 2022 this year.

Michael Whatley’s path to winning the U.S. Senate race has always run through tearing down Democrat Roy Cooper.

Both campaigns have attacked the other for presumed failures in hurricane recovery. Whatley pointed to Cooper's work on Florence and Matthew, Cooper to Whatley's role in Helene recovery.

This week, we’re looking at a claim made by Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley about the murder of a woman on Charlotte’s light rail in August. In a post on X, Whatley blamed the killing on actions his Democratic opponent, Roy Cooper, took while Cooper was governor.