National Democrats inject $11 million more into NC Senate race

As the 2026 midterms start to heat up, Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Roy Cooper is getting a boost: Another $11 million from a Washington-based group hoping Democrats can flip control of the Senate with help from North Carolina voters.

The Senate Majority PAC, a political action committee aligned with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York, had previously pledged $31 million toward flipping the seat currently held by North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis. The new announcement, shared with WRAL exclusively, would bring that total commitment to $42 million. The money is likely to be spent on television and digital ads.

It comes as Cooper has out-performed Michael Whatley, his Republican opponent, in head-to-head fundraising efforts. Earlier this month the Cooper campaign announced it raised $14.8 million from March to June; the Whatley campaign announced raising $5 million in the same period.

But Whatley has been buoyed by other Washington groups seeking to keep Tillis’ seat in GOP hands. The Republican Senate Leadership Fund pledged earlier this year to spend at least $71 million on getting Whatley elected, WRAL reported in April. That group is aligned with Schumer’s Republican counterpart, U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota.

Some anti-Cooper ads from other GOP groups have already begun airing, and polls indicate they may have made a difference. Early polling in the race this spring and summer showed Cooper up double digits. But a more recent survey this month from Public Policy Polling showed Cooper up only 4%.

Whatley is a former energy industry lobbyist who rose behind the scenes in politics, becoming head of the North Carolina Republican Party and later the National Republican Committee. Cooper has been a fixture in state Democratic politics for decades as a member of the state Senate, the attorney general and governor.

As inflation continues rising under Republican President Donald Trump, both men are looking to the economy as a key factor in the race. Cooper has been traveling the state on a tour themed around his “Make Stuff Cost Less” slogan while hitting Trump and Whatley over their support of tariffs, the war in Iran and policies Democrats say help the rich at the expense of others. Whatley has fought back, defending Trump and attacking Cooper as a pro-taxation liberal.

“Michael Whatley is rubber-stamping his party’s agenda, which has left North Carolinians footing the bill for higher gas prices, grocery store costs, and Medicaid cuts that are already hitting families across the state,” Senate Majority PAC spokesperson Lauren French told WRAL. “While Michael Whatley continues to be a yes-man for the Washington establishment, Roy Cooper is offering real change for North Carolinians fed up with business as usual.”

Whatley, meanwhile, says it’s Cooper’s favored policies that would be worse for affordability if Democrats were to retake control of Congress. In a recent social media post he criticized Cooper for opposing Trump’s 2025 budget bill — which Whatley said is part of a trend for his opponent. 

“He raised your taxes as a legislator and vetoed tax cuts as governor,” Whatley wrote. “Cooper wants your money in the hands of DC and Raleigh bureaucrats. I’ll always fight for you to make more and keep more of your money.”