Former Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, won the Senate race in North Carolina on Nov. 3, flipping the seat from the Republican Party.
He defeated former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley. Cooper will succeed Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who decided not to run for reelection after breaking with President Donald Trump on the 2025 GOP spend-and-tax legislation, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Cooper, who served as governor of the Tar Heel State between 2017 and 2025, led in the polls before the election by 10.8 percentage points in the RealClearPolitics average.
Cooper’s polling advantage caused Republicans to divert money for Whatley toward competitive races. The Senate Leadership Fund, which supports Republicans for Senate, canceled $18 million it had planned to spend in North Carolina in October, according to AdImpact, after having spent about $32 million overall….