2026 US election results: Who is Roy Cooper? Democrat and two-term governor defeats Michael Whatley in North Carolina Senate race, flipping a key seat for his party

Democrat Roy Cooper has defeated Michael Whatley in the North Carolina Senate race, according to AP and CBS News, marking a key flip for his party. Cooper, 69, is a popular two-term governor and the longest-serving state attorney general in the history of North Carolina. Cooper was up against Whatley, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), who had never previously run for office but was backed by President Donald Trump.

With Cooper's Senate candidacy, North Carolina was being considered the Democrats' best chance to win a Republican-held seat in the 2026 midterm election. North Carolina had not elected a Democratic senator since 2008.

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis opted not to seek reelection, and announced his retirement from the Senate after a fallout with President Trump. And the race was expected to be competitive, since Trump won the state by just three points in the 2024 election.


Though Whatley campaigned on bolstering Trump's agenda and fighting for conservative values, Cooper kept his focus on the economy with the message of "make stuff cost less", which might have resonated for voters amid the president's unpopular war with Iran and high prices of gas.

Whatley, 57, had worked in former president George W Bush's administration and as chief of staff for former North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole before serving as chairman of the state Republican Party. Later, as RNC chair, he played a key role in President Trump's reelection in 2024.

Cooper speaks to supporters

"You have made your voices heard and they were loud," Cooper told supporters in state capital Raleigh. "For too many people in North Carolina, the middle class was feeling like a distant dream...Today you said this has to stop," he said.

"As your new United States Senator, I am ready to take that message to Washington and work to do something about it," the Democrat added. Cooper had served as the Governor of North Carolina from 2017 to 2025.

Democrats to win Senate control?

The significant victory for Cooper comes as Republicans are trying to keep hold on the upper chamber, after races became competitive in several states that Trump had comfortably bagged in the 2024 poll. The Democrats must score a net of four seats to clinch a majority in the Senate.