March 3, 2026 / 8:47 PM EST / CBS News
Washington — Former Gov. Roy Cooper and ex-Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley have secured their parties’ nominations and will face each other in November for North Carolina’s open U.S. Senate seat, CBS News projects.
Both victories, expected by observers, formalize a contest that has effectively been underway for months. With the primary results in, the general election campaign now moves to center stage in what is widely viewed as one of the most competitive Senate races of the cycle.
The seat opened after GOP Sen. Thom Tillis announced in June that he would not seek reelection, doing so hours after former President Trump threatened to back a primary challenger. Tillis, a two-term senator who at times broke with party leadership, warned that lawmakers willing to pursue bipartisan solutions are becoming “an endangered species.”
North Carolina was already on Democrats’ target list for 2026, and the absence of an incumbent elevated the race to a top pickup opportunity for Democrats aiming to retake the Senate.
Cooper, who served two terms as governor and is the longest-serving state attorney general in North Carolina history, is the highest-profile Democrat in the contest. The state has not elected a Democratic senator since 2008 and often leans Republican in presidential contests, but Democrats believe Cooper’s statewide wins in 2016 and 2020 — including in a state that voted for Donald Trump — give him a credible path to victory.
Whatley, who has never held elective office, served in the George W. Bush administration, was chief of staff to former Sen. Elizabeth Dole, led the state Republican Party, and later chaired the RNC. Trump publicly encouraged Whatley to run in July, saying, “I need him in Washington.”
The nominees have traded sharp attacks on issues that resonate with voters. Whatley has focused on immigration and crime, including ads blaming Cooper’s gubernatorial policies for the fatal stabbing of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte last August. Cooper has cast Whatley as a Washington insider out of touch with everyday North Carolinians, emphasizing health care and affordability — priorities for Democrats this cycle.
The race is expected to draw heavy spending, with both candidates well connected to donors and national party networks. With Republicans holding a narrow 53-seat majority in the Senate and limited Democratic pickup opportunities elsewhere, North Carolina ranks high among Democrats’ paths to flipping control of the chamber.