Dem Roy Cooper flips North Carolina Senate seat, beats Trump pick Michael Whatley

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Former North Carolina governor Roy Cooper has won the state’s US Senate race, defeating Michael Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chair endorsed by Donald Trump. Cooper will replace Republican Thom Tillis, who is not seeking re-election. The Associated Press called the contest at 8.24pm Eastern Time on Tuesday. The first report put Cooper ahead by 66.8% to 31.6% at that point.

Cooper, 69, has served two terms as governor and was previously the state’s attorney general. His campaign centred on reducing the cost of essentials, under the slogan “Make Stuff Cost Less”, and pointed to his record on expanding Medicaid and raising teachers’ pay. Whatley, 58, had relied on his ties to Trump, who has carried North Carolina in three presidential elections. Cooper argued that Whatley would follow the president’s direction.

Republicans sought to make crime a central issue, criticising Cooper over a criminal justice task force appointment and prisoner releases during the Covid-19 pandemic. Cooper countered by highlighting Whatley’s own record in state party politics and his connection to Trump. Whatley and Republican allies also raised concerns about immigration and transgender athletes, while Cooper’s emphasis on household costs resonated amid voter frustration over living expenses, fuel prices and the war in Iran.

The result breaks a long Republican run in North Carolina Senate races. Cooper is the first Democrat elected to the seat since Kay Hagan won in 2008; she lost to Tillis in 2014. The contest drew national attention after Tillis announced he would retire. Republican campaign groups had initially earmarked substantial sums for Whatley, but a leading Senate group redirected support to Kansas in the closing weeks. The second report also describes Cooper as raising roughly three times as much as Whatley and notes that he led in polling throughout the contest.

• nypost.com
• www.theguardian.com