March 3, 2026 / 8:47 PM EST / CBS News
Washington — Former Gov. Roy Cooper and former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley are set to face off in November in what is expected to be one of the most competitive Senate races of the cycle.
Whatley and Cooper won their respective primaries Tuesday night, CBS News projects. The outcome was widely expected; the two men have effectively been campaigning against one another for months. With Tuesday’s primary victories, the general-election contest now begins in earnest.
They are vying for an open North Carolina Senate seat after GOP Sen. Thom Tillis announced in June that he would not seek reelection hours after former President Trump threatened to back a primary challenge against him. Tillis, a two-term senator who has at times broken with his party, warned that lawmakers willing to embrace bipartisanship are becoming “an endangered species.”
North Carolina was already expected to be competitive in 2026, and without an incumbent, the open Tar Heel State seat emerged as a top pickup opportunity for Democrats seeking to regain control of the Senate.
Cooper, a two-term governor and the longest-serving state attorney general in North Carolina history, is a high-profile Democratic candidate. The state hasn’t elected a Democratic senator since 2008 and typically leans Republican in presidential races, but Democrats hope Cooper’s statewide record — including gubernatorial wins in 2016 and 2020 in a state that also backed Donald Trump — will make the race winnable.
Whatley has never held elected office. He worked in the George W. Bush administration and served as chief of staff for former Sen. Elizabeth Dole before leading the state Republican Party and later serving as RNC chair. Trump publicly urged Whatley to run in July, saying, “I need him in Washington.”
The two have traded sharp attacks. Whatley has targeted Cooper on immigration and crime, including ads blaming Cooper’s policies as governor for the death of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, who was fatally stabbed in Charlotte in August. Cooper has portrayed Whatley as a Washington insider out of touch with everyday North Carolinians, focusing on health care and affordability — issues Democrats are emphasizing this cycle.
The race is expected to be one of the most expensive of the cycle, with both candidates well connected for fundraising. Given the narrow Republican majority in the Senate — 53 seats — and a map with limited Democratic pickup opportunities, North Carolina sits at the top of the list for Democrats hoping to flip the chamber.