Roy Cooper Leads North Carolina Senate Race by Double Digits as Democrats Eye First Flip in 20 Years
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Oct 4
Roy Cooper Leads North Carolina Senate Race by Double Digits as Democrats Eye First Flip in 20 Years
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Oct 4
Summary
Double-digit polling leads have made former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper Democrats’ strongest chance to flip a Senate seat, putting Republican Michael Whatley on defense in a state the party usually holds federally.
Cooper has built that edge on a centrist pitch to “make stuff cost less,” tying voter frustration over fuel, fertilizer and health-insurance costs to his record of working with a GOP legislature.
Medicaid expansion has become his main proof point: Cooper argues he broke a decade-long stalemate with Republicans and delivered coverage to hundreds of thousands of low-income residents.
Republicans have answered with a crime-focused attack line and millions in ads, but Whatley’s close alignment with Trump has looked less helpful as the president’s approval ratings sag and some GOP groups pull ad spending.
Nearly 20 years after North Carolina last elected a Democratic senator, Cooper is still warning supporters not to trust the polls in a state where even favorable races often tighten late.