NORTH CAROLINA — The U.S. Senate race in North Carolina for the November 3, 2026, election features Democrat Roy Cooper, Republican Michael Whatley, and Libertarian Shannon Bray in a contest that could shape control of the chamber. North Carolina is one of nine battleground states in the 2026 U.S. Senate elections, with 35 seats nationwide up for grabs—22 held by Republicans and 13 by Democrats.

Absentee ballots for the race will be mailed 14 weeks before Election Day. According to a poll earlier this month, inflation and the cost of living is the top issue for North Carolinians in the 2026 midterms, while crime and public safety ranked eighth.

Cooper, a former prosecutor and governor, stated in a campaign stop in Johnston County, “I know that so many people right now are getting a raw deal from Washington, D.C., insiders. My opponent, Michael Whatley, is one of those Washington, D.C., insiders. You need representation in Washington who is going to put you first. I’m ready to get to work, and I’m ready to make stuff cost less.” His platform includes proposals to lower costs on food, healthcare, energy, childcare, and housing, along with supporting farmers, stopping chaotic tariffs, strengthening antitrust enforcement in grocery retail, and banning grocery pricing algorithms that raise prices based on individual customers.

Whatley, whose campaign aligns with Donald Trump’s “America First” platform, said in a network interview, “Voters want a strong economy, they want a strong border, they want safe communities, and they want America to be strong and respected again around the world. That is the Republican platform. It’s certainly what I am running on in North Carolina.” He also criticized Democratic leaders, saying, “They are going to fight for criminals. They’re going to fight for illegal aliens. They’re going to fight for men in women’s sports. They’re not going to fight for the people of America.”

Whatley further charged that “there really are no centrist Democrats anymore because they’re being driven out of the party. The fact is, that party is going further and further and further to the left. It’s a woke mob at this point in time.” Cooper’s campaign has pushed back on claims linking him to the August 2023 stabbing death of Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte, noting suspect DeCarlos Brown Jr. was not released under a 2021 prisoner settlement his administration reached with the NAACP and ACLU. Whatley’s campaign argues the settlement’s terms allowed Brown’s earlier release to count toward required totals.

Republicans have not lost a U.S. Senate seat in North Carolina in a midterm election since 1998, and they currently hold 53 of 100 Senate seats nationwide.