Cooper takes North Carolina Senate seat

Roy Cooper defeated Michael Whatley to win the U.S. Senate seat in North Carolina. The Associated Press and NBC News called the race for Cooper shortly after polls closed on Tuesday evening. Early returns showed the former governor holding a large lead over Whatley, the former chair of the Republican National Committee.

Cooper’s victory marks the first time North Carolina has sent a Democrat to the Senate since 2008. The result provides a key boost to Democratic efforts to regain control of the upper chamber. Cooper told supporters in a speech Tuesday night that the state showed the country everyday people can make change. He added that the group is just getting started.

The outcome was expected by most political observers. Polls gave Cooper a double-digit lead for most of the campaign. Many insiders wrote off Whatley a month ago. Republicans pulled back their advertising spend as the gap widened. National Democratic groups shifted their focus to other states.

Cooper, 69, spent 38 years in North Carolina public service. He was first elected to the state House in 1986. He later served as attorney general and governor. He left office at the end of 2024. During his tenure, he built a reputation for steady leadership and remained popular among voters.

Media outlets have described Cooper as calm and unprovocative. A New York Times columnist called him blissfully boring. Slate compared him to a sweater designed to look like a human. His style offered a contrast to the combative tone of recent politics. He positioned himself as a moderate who challenged GOP extremism.

Whatley, a former oil and gas lobbyist, had never sought public office before this race. President Donald Trump selected him in July 2025 to run for Senate. Trump had forced incumbent Republican senator Thom Tillis into retirement. The two disagreed on issues including Medicaid cuts. Whatley promised to support the president’s agenda.

Republican candidates argued Cooper was the worst governor in state history. They cited rises in housing and energy costs. They criticized a COVID-era settlement that released about 3,000 state prisoners early. Most were months from finishing their sentences. Republicans also linked Cooper’s policies to the slaying of Iryna Zarutska on Charlotte’s light rail last year.

Those attacks did not significantly hurt Cooper’s support. He took credit for job growth and raising teacher pay. He promoted Medicaid expansion. He stuck to his message about lowering costs for residents. He ended the campaign with an ad tying Whatley to a child sex offender. In early October, national GOP groups stopped funding the race. Whatley paused his television ads. Trump acknowledged at a mid-October rally that Cooper was going to become the senator.