Roy Cooper

North Carolina Democrats have had success in winning elections for governor. It's a different story in Senate races. A former governor is out to change that when Roy Cooper takes on Republican Michael Whatley in November. Whatley was Donald Trump's national Republican Party chairman. Republicans want to frame Cooper as too far left for a state that Trump won three times. That tactic will test Cooper's bond with voters established across four decades of winning campaigns. Cooper wants to turn that narrative on its head. He says Whatley is a tool of "well-connected friends in Washington" who can't effectively represent the state.

Former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and ex-Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley have won their respective party nominations for a North Carolina U.S. Senate seat.

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.

Orrick Quick, a pastor from High Point, launched his campaign this month for the seat being vacated by Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis.

Political experts say North Carolina's Senate race next year could see around $500 million in campaign spending, and the contest between former Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley could set a new record for the most expensive Senate race in the country.

Democrats still in the dumps over last year’s elections have found cause for optimism in North Carolina, where former Gov. Roy Cooper jumped into the race for that state’s newly open seat with a vow to address voters’ persistent concerns about making ends meet. Republicans, meanwhile, are hardly ceding the economic populist ground President Donald Trump held in carrying the state last year. In announcing his candidacy for Senate on Thursday, Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley credited Trump with fulfilling campaign promises to working Americans. Cooper’s plainspoken appeal represents the latest effort by Democrats to find their way back to power.

Former U.S. Rep. Wiley Nickel has decided to quit his bid for a Senate seat in North Carolina after Democrat Roy Cooper announced his candidacy. Nickel endorsed Cooper on Tuesday, citing leadership and inspiration by the former two-term governor. Cooper launched his campaign on Monday to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis. On the GOP side, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley is expected to run with Donald Trump's support. Nickel had formally launched a Senate campaign in April, but his activities were always overshadowed by what Cooper decided to do next. Nickel hinted at future political endeavors in his Tuesday statement.

The two-term governor, a Democrat, has long been expected to seek the seat being vacated by Sen. Thom Tillis.

The former governor's remarks were Cooper's first time speaking publicly since news of his Senate campaign broke and come just days before he's expected to formally announce.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley is planning a run for U.S. Senate in North Carolina next year after Sen. Thom Tillis dropped out of the race.