Dems projected to nominate dream candidate for North Carolina Senate race

North Carolina Democrats were projected Tuesday to nominate Roy Cooper as their nominee for U.S. Senate, according to reports, giving the national party one of their best chances to pick up a seat in 2026 on a map that is otherwise highly challenging.

The race was called by The Associated Press and CNN.

Cooper served two terms as a relatively popular governor, first being elected in 2016 as President Donald Trump carried the state at the top of the ballot. The governor frequently clashed with heavily gerrymandered Republican majorities in the state legislature.

He will face off against Michael Whatley, the former chair of the Republican National Committee, who briefly served in that role with Trump's blessing.

This Senate seat in North Carolina has been represented by Sen. Thom Tillis since 2015. However, he announced he would be retiring from Congress last year, and since then has grown more and more outspoken against the Trump administration.

Democrats hope Cooper can break a losing streak in federal statewide races in North Carolina that has lasted since 2008. Their narrow path to retaking a Senate majority is effectively impossible without a victory in this race.

Current polls broadly place Cooper as the favorite in the race for the time being.