Senate Majority PAC announces $31.4 million for Cooper campaign

On May 12, Senate Majority PAC (SMP), the national party committee to elect more Democratic candidates to the US Senate, announced an additional $31.4 million to support former Gov. Roy Cooper in his US Senate race against Michael Whatley, former chairman of the Republican National Committee and the NCGOP. 

“Michael Whatley has made it clear that his priority as senator will be acting as a rubber-stamp for Donald Trump’s costly agenda,” Senate Majority PAC spokesperson Lauren French said in a press release. “Nowhere is that truer than when he failed to secure real relief for North Carolinians after Helene or stand up for families being crushed by higher prices. Roy Cooper is putting North Carolina first — above special interests and partisan politics to ensure every North Carolinian has a Senator fighting for them.”

The $31.4 million is earmarked for a television reservation, meaning that the funds are utilized to reserve airtime on TV stations in advance of the upcoming election, locking in rates and ensuring available airtime. 

This is just about $5 million less than the $36 million the SMP spent on NC Senate elections in 2020. 

“Senate Majority PAC’s announcement of their plan to invest $31 million in spending is notable but unsurprising,” Jim Stirling, data consultant for North State Elections, told the Carolina Journal. “We are already starting to see some PACs aligned with Cooper and the Senate Majority PAC running ads to put the blame on Whatley for Hurricane Helene recovery. As is typical with these sorts of PAC spends, we should expect ads coming from the group to be ads targeted against Whatley rather than in support of Cooper.”

The SMP has also announced investments of $46.4 million in Ohio and $33.4 million in Maine, both for television, according to the press release. These are the three states where Democrats say they have an opportunity to flip seats, making a play for control of the Senate.

According to the March 2026 Carolina Journal Poll, a survey of 600 likely North Carolina voters, Cooper (48.9%) led Whatley (41.1%) by 7.8 points. Among registered independents, Whatley falls further behind with 32% support versus Cooper’s 52% support. 

“That planned spending shows that, despite Cooper’s consistent lead in the polls, Democrats worry that they could lose the Senate race in North Carolina,” Andy Jackson, director of the Civitas Center for Public Integrity at the John Locke Foundation, told the Carolina Journal. “Those are resources they probably wish they could spend in other states in their long-shot attempt to flip control of the Senate. If Cooper is still well ahead in the polls in September, they may shift that spending to other states.”

A recent poll by the elections-integrity group RightCount had Cooper leading Whatley by 9 points. Other polls have similar results, including a High Point University poll conducted in late April, with Cooper leading 50% to 42%. A March 8-9 poll conducted by Healthier United, just days after both candidates locked in their party nominations, had Cooper with an 18-point lead. 

“It should come as no surprise that New York Democrat Chuck Schumer is coming to the defense of his far-left ally Roy Cooper’s aid,” DJ Griffin, spokesman for Whatley’s campaign, told the Carolina Journal. “Roy Cooper and Chuck Schumer are two sides of the same coin, supporting New York values like letting criminals out of prison early, raising your taxes, and shutting down the government. This support for Cooper shows that he will be nothing more than Chuck Schumer’s left-wing puppet in the Senate.”

“Senate Majority PAC announces $31.4 million for Cooper campaign” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.