# North Carolina Senate race 2026

Open Republican seat. Michael Whatley (R) faces former Gov. Roy Cooper (D). Forecasters favor Cooper.

- Office: U.S. Senate
- Rating: Likely Democrat (Cook Political Report, Oct 20, 2026)
- Sabato's Crystal Ball: Likely Democratic
- Election Day: Tuesday, November 3, 2026
- Canonical page: https://rightnewsrightnow.com/election/nc-senate/
- Back to [Election Headquarters](https://rightnewsrightnow.com/election/)

## Who is running

- Michael Whatley (Republican): open seat
- Roy Cooper (Democrat): open seat

## The facts

- Sen. Thom Tillis announced on June 29, 2025 he would not run again, after backlash for voting against the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. (Wikipedia)
- President Trump endorsed Whatley, a former Republican National Committee chairman. (Wikipedia)
- Cook moved the race from Leans Democratic to Likely Democratic. (Mediaite)

## Why this race matters to conservatives (opinion)

A Republican-held seat that forecasters now give to the other side.

This section is the opinion of RightNewsRightNow. The rest of the page is reporting.

## Where these facts come from

- [Cook Political Report](https://www.270towin.com/2026-senate-election/cook-political-report-2026-senate): current rating, as of Oct 20, 2026
- [Wikipedia (election pages, with their cited sources)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_Senate_elections): candidate and race facts