RALEIGH: Former North Carolina governor Roy Cooper leads Republican Michael Whatley 54% to 40% in the state’s US Senate race, according to an October SurveyUSA poll.
The survey covered 643 people who had voted by mail or were likely to vote. Conducted from October 7 to 11, it had a credibility interval of 5 percentage points.
Meanwhile, the leading super political action committee supporting Senate Republicans has paused television advertising in North Carolina. It has redirected campaign funds towards defending seats elsewhere, including Iowa and Kansas.
Cooper has centred his campaign on everyday costs, prescription medicines and health insurance. He points to his six-year effort to secure Medicaid expansion through the Republican-controlled state legislature as evidence of bipartisan cooperation.
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Lawmakers approved the expansion in 2023. It extended coverage to more than 700,000 residents, according to state health department data.
However, Cooper argues that President Donald Trump’s healthcare policies threaten those gains. He has criticized the administration’s tax and budget legislation as favoring billionaires at the expense of people seeking affordable care.
The White House defends the law as a tax-cutting measure that protects Medicaid for eligible Americans and tackles fraud. Republican strategist Paul Shumaker attributes Cooper’s advantage partly to his established reputation.
He argues that Whatley, a former Republican National Committee chairman who has never held elected office, has struggled to distinguish himself from Trump.
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Whatley’s campaign offered a different assessment. A spokesperson told WRAL that the candidate continued courting undecided voters and expected the contest to tighten.
Republicans hold a 53–47 Senate majority. Democrats need a net gain of four seats in the November 3 elections to take control. Trump is scheduled to campaign in North Carolina for Whatley on Tuesday.
