The marquee matchup for the open US Senate seat in North Carolina will begin to resolve into focus Tuesday,
with a well-known former Democratic governor and a Donald Trump-endorsed but untested Republican appearing to lead the field.
In the Democratic primary, former two-term governor Roy #Cooper is ahead in recent polling against the slate of other candidates who have never held elected office. Cooper is widely seen among North Carolina’s Democrats as their best chance at flipping a Republican-controlled seat, now held by retiring US senator Thom #Tillis, a conservative who has turned hard against the Trump administration on its handling of healthcare, defense and the Epstein file disclosures.
For Republicans, Michael #Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chair, leads the field in polling, with his closest competitor, representative Don #Brown, in the single digits.
Polling in both primaries has been relatively scant and may have masked softness in conservative support for Whatley. About half of the Republican electorate remains undecided heading to voting booths Tuesday.
Whatley has Trump’s endorsement, but that hasn’t stopped the grumbling on the right.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/03/north-carolina-democratic-republican-primaries-senate?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
