The final field for one of the country’s most closely watched Senate races is officially set: Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, will face off against Michael Whatley, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, in November’s general election.
Whatley beat out author and attorney Don Brown and conservative activist Michele Morrow to secure his party’s nomination Tuesday, according to a projection from The Associated Press. Cooper sailed to victory against a crowded field of Democrats, including Robert Colon, Justin Dues, Daryl Farrow, Orrick Quick and Marcus Williams.
Polling going into the primaries had Whatley and Cooper as their parties’ front-runners. Now, all eyes shift to November.
Democrats believe the two-term governor could be their best chance at flipping the seat, left open after Republican Sen. Thom Tillis abruptly announced in June that he would retire.
Cooper has never lost a statewide race. Before becoming governor, the moderate Democrat was the state’s attorney general for 16 years. In 2016, during his first run for governor, he outperformed Hillary Clinton by 4 percentage points, and in 2020 he ran 6 points better than Joe Biden.
Despite not previously holding elected office, Whatley is a prominent name in North Carolina Republican politics. Before serving as chairman of the RNC, the attorney was the head of the state’s Republican Party from 2019 to 2024.
Whatley was reportedly personally recruited to run by Donald Trump. In 2020, he worked closely with the president’s campaign on “election integrity” efforts and oversaw the recruitment of hundreds of lawyers for the North Carolina Republican Party, drawing on his experience serving on George W. Bush’s legal team during the 2000 presidential election.
During a December event in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Trump — who carried the state in 2016, 2020 and 2024 — called Whatley “phenomenal” and “incredible.”
Trump’s vocal support for Whatley is especially notable considering the state’s outgoing senator, Tillis, has not shied away from criticizing the president and has broken with the administration repeatedly.
November’s contest is seen as one of a handful of races that could help decide control of the U.S. Senate. Democrats are optimistic about their chances, but the state’s early primary makes for a long eight months before the general election.
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW. She was previously a segment producer for “AYMAN” and “The Mehdi Hasan Show.”