Cooper tops Whatley in Q2 campaign finance reports

In the race for North Carolina’s open Senate seat, former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper raised $14.8 million in the second quarter, well outpacing his opponent, Michael Whatley, former chairman of the Republican National Committee and the NCGOP, who only raised about $5 million. 

Cooper reported $14.8 million in Q2, a combination of his joint fundraising committee (Cooper Victory) and his candidate committee (Cooper for North Carolina). Cooper for North Carolina raised about $2.9 million, and Cooper Victory raised about $11.8 million. This does not account for what was transferred to the candidate committee. Cooper’s cash-on-hand totals about $27.4 million across the two committees. 

“Roy Cooper is running to make stuff cost less, while Big Oil and utility company lobbyist and DC insider Michael Whatley is only looking out for himself and his well-connected friends,” Jeff Allen, Cooper for North Carolina campaign manager, said in a press release. “Our campaign’s strong grassroots fundraising from folks who know Roy Cooper will put the people first is more important than ever now that the Supreme Court has allowed the RNC to spend virtually unlimited amounts to bail out their former Chairman Michael Whatley.”

Whatley brought in $5 million in Q2, according to DJ Griffin, spokesman for Whatley’s campaign, with Whatley’s cycle-to-date totaling more than $21 million since announcing his candidacy in July of 2025. 

“This announcement shows the momentum of the campaign and demonstrates the backing Whatley has from the people of North Carolina,” Griffin told the Carolina Journal. “The support for our campaign is a clear rebuke of Governor Cooper’s failures to bring down taxes, keep our communities safe, and to protect our families. North Carolinians deserve a senator who will fight for our families and communities by lowering costs and keeping us safe. That clear choice is Michael Whatley.”

Whatley for Senate, Whatley’s campaign committee, reported $2.9 million for Q2. Whatley saw another $2.9 million from the joint fundraising committee (Whatley Victory). This comes to $4.7 million, with the joint fundraising committee transferring $1.1 million to the candidate committee. The remaining $300,000 came from another committee transfer. Whatley’s cash-on-hand totals $7.8 million between the two committees. 

“The narrative that has been guiding this race for the last six months will continue, that narrative is Roy Cooper is ahead, whether you measure by national environment, polls, or fundraising,” Chris Cooper, professor of political science at Western Carolina University told the Carolina Journal. 

According to the May 2026 Carolina Journal poll, Cooper is also ahead in polling. Cooper was inches away from reaching 50% of the electorate, with 49.8% of likely North Carolina voters polled saying they would vote for Cooper and 38.7% saying they would vote for Whatley at the time of the poll. These results indicate an 11.1-point lead for Cooper — a noteworthy gain over March, when Cooper led by 7.8 points. The poll is a survey of 600 likely voters.

Additionally, 49.8% of voters indicated a favorable view of Cooper, compared with 38.5% who expressed an unfavorable view. Whatley garnered a 25.4% favorability rating, while 21.9% shared an unfavorable view of him, according to the poll. A majority of voters (52.7%) either have no opinion (19.3%) or have never heard of (33.4%) Whatley, compared to just 11.7% of voters who have no opinion (8%) or have never heard of (3.7%) Cooper.

“Democrats’ out-raising Republicans in high-profile races has long been the norm,” Andy Jackson, director of the Civitas Center at the John Locke Foundation, told the Carolina Journal.

But, while this pattern has played out in North Carolina before, Jackson said fundraising advantages do not always translate into victories.

“In 2020, Cal Cunningham out-raised Thom Tillis by 2-to-1 but lost,” said Jackson. “In 2022, Cheri Beasley out-raised Tedd Budd by more than 2.5-to-1 yet still lost. Cooper is on pace to out-raise Whatley by almost 3-to-1, but that does not guarantee that he will win. One hope for Whatley is that spending by party organizations and outside groups will help even the playing field. Republicans have tended to fare better than Democrats have with that spending.”

“Cooper tops Whatley in Q2 campaign finance reports” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.