Former two-term Governor Roy Cooper scored an early win in North Carolina’s Senate race on Tuesday, defeating former Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley in a state Donald Trump carried three times.
The result marked the first major midterm victory for Democrats, who entered the night riding an early wave of momentum.
The Associated Press called the race for Cooper at 8:23 pm, less than an hour after polls closed across North Carolina.
Cooper became the first Democrat to win a US Senate seat in North Carolina since 2008. His campaign centered on the slogan: “Make stuff cost less.”
The message resonated with voters in North Carolina and nationwide, where concerns about the economy and the rising cost of living featured prominently in exit polls.
Cooper took the stage at his Raleigh watch party shortly after the race was called, as an enthusiastic crowd repeatedly chanted, “Cooper! Cooper! Cooper!”
“Tonight,” Cooper said, “we told Washington loud and clear that North Carolinians will always matter more than the billionaires and the insiders.”
“I am still a prisoner of hope,” Cooper added, saying the results showed that voters were ready for a change in direction.
Supporters of Democratic US Senate candidate and former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper celebrate after his election to the US Senate
Cooper fist bumps the child of a supporter in North Carolina. He is the first Democrat to win a US Senate race there since 2008
North Carolina Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley, right, kisses his wife, Suzanne, after speaking at his election night party. Whatley conceded the race around 9 pm
Cooper pledged to serve as an “independent voice” for North Carolina. He said his campaign was focused on standing up for people struggling with higher costs, including the impact of Trump tariffs and elevated gas, diesel and fertilizer prices “because of this never-ending war.”
Whatley conceded at around 9 pm, telling supporters, “While the results today are not what we’ve been working for, my commitment to you in this great state remains as strong as ever,” he said.
“I will never stop fighting for North Carolina.”
Cooper’s victory leaves Democrats three seats short of a Senate majority. The battle for control will hinge on results in Texas, Ohio, Maine, Michigan and Alaska.
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Tuesday’s outcome confirmed a result that pollsters and political advertisers had projected for much of the campaign.
Cooper held a nine-point advantage over Whatley in the final days before the election. His lead remained close to double digits so consistently that both parties stopped spending on advertising during the race’s final weeks.
Fundraising was another decisive factor. Campaign data showed Cooper raised about $20 million during the third quarter, far exceeding Whatley’s roughly $2 million haul over the same period.
Whatley struggled to connect with North Carolina voters despite his close relationship with Trump. The former president visited the state several times during the final stretch to campaign for his ally.
Those efforts ultimately failed to change the outcome.
Outgoing Republican Thom Tillis seized on his status to sharply criticize Trump during his final term – a stark departure with many of his Republican colleagues in the chamber.
Cooper speaks at a campaign event at Sugar Creek Brewing in Charlotte, NC, during his ‘Make Stuff Cost Less’ tour
Michael Whatley, the Republican candidate running for Senate in North Carolina, lost his race spectacularly
Whatley speaks at an election night event in Gastonia, North Carolina
He voted against Trump’s signature tax and spending legislation, decried his foreign policy decisions – describing Trump’s proposal for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping as ‘absurd’ – and said voting to confirm Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was the ‘biggest regret of my career.’
Other criticism was laid bare in his book, in which Tillis called Trump a ‘snowflake’ whom he said ‘thinner skin than I once thought he did.’
US voters cast their ballots at a polling station in Alaska in the 2026 midterm elections
Tillis saw the writing on the wall in the weeks before the election.
The retiring Republicans said the party likely needed a more moderate candidate and that Whatley’s background as a partisan operative created a barrier to win unaffiliated voters.
‘Anybody with a brain should know we only win if we get enough undecided, unaffiliated voters our way,’ Tillis told Politico.