President Donald Trump is coming to North Carolina on Wednesday, Sept. 16, to try to give Republican US Senate candidate Michael Whatley a boost in a race where the polls indicate he could really use one.
Trump is scheduled to appear with Whatley at the Gastonia Municipal Airport, with the event scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Gastonia is home turf for Whatley – who lives in Gaston County and is running against former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper for the US Senate seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Thom Tillis.
Whatley announced the Trump visit by writing, “President Trump needs an ally in the Senate and North Carolina needs a fighter.”
There’s little doubt why North Carolina is getting some presidential attention.
Cooper has led Whatley in virtually every recent public poll and has a big lead in the prediction markets as well.
A Sept. 10 Trafalgar Group poll had Cooper leading Whatley 48.2 percent to 42.3 percent. An East Carolina University poll conducted Aug. 31 through Sept. 3 found Cooper ahead 46 percent to 39 percent, with 14 percent undecided. When voters in the ECU poll were pushed to choose a candidate, Cooper led 52 percent to 44 percent.
An Elon University poll released this month had Cooper leading 49 percent to 38 percent, while an August High Point University poll had Cooper ahead 50 percent to 45 percent.
So far, Whatley hasn’t followed the strategy that some Republicans in competitive races have adopted: putting some daylight between themselves and Trump.
In fact, Whatley’s campaign website makes his relationship with Trump one of the central arguments for electing him.
The first issue listed under “Michael’s Plan for North Carolina” is “Enact the Trump Agenda in the U.S. Senate.”
That’s the first.
Whatley states, “I am committed to advancing President Trump’s America First agenda as the next U.S. Senator from North Carolina.”
The homepage also prominently identifies Whatley as “Endorsed by President Trump” and notes that Whatley led the energy, environment and agriculture teams during Trump’s 2016 presidential transition and later served as Republican National Committee chairman “at President Trump’s request.”
On immigration, Whatley’s website says he is “100% supportive of President Trump securing the border and deporting the millions of criminal illegal aliens that Joe Biden and Roy Cooper allowed into this country.”
On crime, Whatley says that as senator he would “stand shoulder to shoulder with President Trump to restore law and order.”
His campaign also emphasizes what it calls an “America First Economy,” opposition to illegal immigration, support for the Second Amendment, opposition to what the campaign calls “radical woke ideology” in schools, and hurricane recovery efforts Whatley says he pursued with the Trump administration.
There has been at least some effort by Whatley to make the campaign about more than Trump.
WFDD reported in July that Whatley was talking about Trump less frequently on the campaign trail than he had previously. Asked directly whether he needed to distance himself from Trump to win, Whatley didn’t say that he did. Instead, he said the way to win was to “draw a contrast with Roy Cooper.”
But that subtle change in campaign appearances hasn’t translated into removing Trump from Whatley’s campaign message. His website continues to put Trump and Trump’s agenda front and center.
That’s different from the approach being taken by some Republicans running in close races elsewhere across the country.
The Los Angeles Times reported last week that Republican US Rep. Young Kim of California removed references to Trump from her campaign website as she fights to retain her seat. The newspaper also reported that Republican Rep. David Valadao of California has been distancing himself from Trump and that Republican congressional candidates Carlos De La Cruz and Eric Flores in Texas deemphasized their Trump connections after winning their primaries.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine has taken an even more established approach: Collins has repeatedly broken with Trump on legislation and other issues and has made her independence from the president part of her political identity in a state where she faces another difficult reelection campaign.
Trump has criticized Collins publicly, and the Associated Press reported in June that the White House appeared prepared to give her more political space rather than insist that she campaign alongside the president.
Whatley has chosen a very different path.
Of course, having Trump campaign for a Republican in North Carolina is hardly an unreasonable strategy. Trump carried North Carolina in all three of his presidential campaigns, and Whatley will need strong turnout from voters who supported Trump if he’s going to erase Cooper’s current polling advantage.
But a Trump endorsement is no guarantee of success, even in a Republican primary race in North Carolina.
That was demonstrated dramatically earlier this year when Trump strongly endorsed longtime NC Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger in his Republican primary against Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page.
Berger had been one of the most powerful Republicans in North Carolina for more than a decade, had Trump’s endorsement and massively outspent Page.
It still wasn’t enough.
After recounts and legal challenges, Berger conceded the race to Page in March. Page won by just 23 votes out of more than 26,000 cast despite Berger reportedly outspending him by more than 40-to-1.
There’s an obvious difference between that race and the Cooper-Whatley contest.
Page was challenging Berger in a Republican primary where both candidates were competing for conservative voters. Whatley is running in a statewide general election where attracting Republicans is only part of the job. He also needs enough unaffiliated and swing voters to defeat Cooper. But Trump can motivate voters on the other side as well, particularly at a time when his approval ratings have fallen and Republicans are facing a difficult national political and economic environment. The question for Whatley is whether Trump can help him turn out enough Republican voters to overcome Cooper’s advantage elsewhere.
This is one of a handful of contested Senate races that could decide if Trump will be allowed to continue to operate as president in the ways he has been or if he will largely be a lame duck for two years when it comes to things that can’t be done with an Executive Order.
On Monday, Sept. 14, the Kalshi prediction market flipped from favoring Republican control of the Senate after the election to favoring the Democrats.
Only fools vote for politicians’ endorsed candidates and vote-buying schemes. Use your own critical thinking skills.
Fed Borrowing rate at all time high
Diesel Fuel cost at all time high
Household debt at all time high
Cost of Groceries at all time high
Increased Federal Budget Deficit
Electricity prices up substantially
Yeah, I think avoiding Trump and the current conservative leadership is a good idea if running for office in the mid-terms.
Cheers
The comparison between Whatley and Berger is probably the wrong analogy. Trump effectively pressured a popular moderate incumbent, Thom Tillis, not to run. His replacement for Tillis was a more pliable sycophant who could be counted on to do as he was told. Whatley, being the sycophant, is by definition not a moderate. Cooper, despite the blitz of ludicrous negative ads, is a moderate. That probably explains why Cooper remains ahead.
I agree. I think after the last several years of divisive rhetoric from political leaders, we NEED moderates again to restore order, credibility and thoughtful leadership to navigate the difficult times ahead for our nation as we deal with our debt, climate change, and the continuing deterioration of the American Dream for the average working-class family struggling to afford a home, education and retirement.
The best color of government isn’t Blue or Red, it is Purple.
Cheers
Tillis was not liked. He would not have won re-election. Don’t you think Cooper will be a sycophant to Schumer? Of course, he will. He will be marching in-line following the Democrat tail in front of him with a Democrat behind following Cooper’s tail. Pelosi had a tight rein on the Democrat House and Schumer on the Senate. Getting Republicans is like herding cats. On the one hand, I acknowledge the tow-the-line-attitude of the Democrats. But I do believe that Republicans are more real because they don’t tow-the-line.
The Socialists will take over the Democrat Party because the Socialists have a mission, they are loud, and they have a common goal, make America like where they came from. Other than Bernie Sanders, who is 85 years old and living on borrowed time, he is the only homegrown Socialist/Communist in Congress. But that old horse won’t make it to the finish line and there are many young horses coming up behind, all Socialist and Muslim. Voters, what do you see in your rearview mirror? All Democrats, including Cooper, will be voting with all the Social Democrats, including the Muslims.
Vote for Whatley to keep the Social Democrat Muslims out of the majority party. Whatley loves America, he was born here, educated here, and is a Christian man. The choice is clear. The Muslims already have their nose under the tent. Push it out with force, and by voting for Whatley, a Republican, not the Social Democrat Cooper.
You have crossed two completely different BS propaganda talking points:
You defeat your own argument about Democrats towing the line. You claim that Socialists will take over the party (hint they won’t as they are the vast majority), yet if Democrats all tow the line, they would all already be in line. So which is it, Democrats are currently not on the same page and Socialists are going to take them over due to this or are they all marching in-line?
Cooper is a moderate and polling very strongly within the Democratic party membership. Heck, he didn’t even support the Green New Deal.
But to claim Republicans are independent thinkers is absurd. A Financial Times analysis of Congressional Quarterly voting data found that, during Trump’s second term, House Republicans voted in accordance with Trump’s stated position 95% of the time, while Senate Republicans did so 96% of the time on votes where Trump had taken a public position. The FT described this as the highest presidential-party support level since the 1950s. One step out of line and Trump primaries you…..the cult is strong in the republican party and without Trump cult die hard followers, a Republican can’t win. Period.
Just look at all the Republicans who ‘come clean’ and speak their true mind once they agree they are not running for office again. Tillis is a great example.
But you be you.
I disagree. That message might work for a MAGA die hard, but the Independents (Unaffiliated voters here) who now outnumber the members of both the major parties are unaffiliated mainly because the despise the extreme leadership of both major parties, and they prefer moderates as the lesser of both evils. So, when they hold their noses and vote they will vote heavily for the one who seems most moderate. Good luck convincing them a Trump sycophant is a moderate. Most people here already know Roy Cooper and most think he is a moderate.
sorry, yet another typo…meant to say socialists are vast minority.
Maybe a minority today Chris but the momentum is theirs within the democratic party. Would you vote for a socialist all day long instead of a republican?
I’m tired of election ads filled with lies and half truths. If we measure victory by these then Roy Cooper is definitely a winner.
Has everyone forgotten that Gov. Cooper vetoed the Voter ID law which passed NC State Senate with majorities from both parties? His veto was eventually overriden.
There is so much unfortunate stuff to remember about Cooper. Including his soft on crime allowing criminals on the street including the criminal in Charlotte who murdered the beautiful girl, Iryna, from Ukraine. It was the NC legislature that acted and passed the Pretrial Integrity Act (effective October 1, 2023) and Iryna’s Law (effective December 1, 2025). Cooper signed the Act into law, but it is the NC legislature that gets the credit, not Cooper.
Jeeze you seem to have bought into the most obvious of Whatley’s lying campaign ads. Cooper did not release the murderer who killed Iryna. That guy served his full term and was released from a psychiatric hospital just before killing her.
Crime declined under Coopers leadership. How is that being soft on crime?
Cooper is not a drop-in Washington lobbyist…many of us do not agree with all his stances but Cooper is a better choice for North Carolina. I am tired of high gas prices. Sometimes I wonder if some did not want to win the Iran war because then the Oil Giants would not the ability to charge as much as they do. I thought after Vietnam we learned that halfway effort, defensive wars are unacceptable. Either we go all out or we should stay out. May God Bless this country.
If now retired Sheriff Sam Page gets elected, his response to Trump on the offer of a government job to drop out of the race against Berger will go down in NC political history. “I’m not a wishy washy person. When I make my mind up to do something I see it through.” Guilford Sheriff Rogers should take note: that’s the way you “cowboy up.”
Maybe Page recalled how Mark Walker stepped out of the race against Addison McDowell on Trump’s offer to make him the national Christian Commissar or Bible Czar or whatever it was. Didn’t seem to materialize after he bowed out.
It’ll be interesting to hear what Trump says in NC at the (AKH) Gastonia airport before he quickly whisks Melania out of town.
The sad part about Page is he pissed off some many institutional repubs in Raleigh by running that he’s going to be lower on the totem pole than most democrats. He’ll be lucky if they let him in the chamber.
Sadly, neither candidate is worth voting for.
Looks like NC is scraping the bottom of the barrel on this election and the worst part is that citizens will suffer.
The GOP might as well hand the seat to Cooper on a silver platter! No way Whatley can win!!
He can win if the Republicans, Trumpers, and North Carolinas who love America get out and vote for Whatley.
All Democrats in NC love America…..that is why we are voting for Cooper.
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But “Professor” says that it’s really arrogant to speak for other people, let alone “All Democrats in NC”.
Wow. That’s a whole nother level of arrogance, I guess.
If it were me, I would drop this mud-sling altogether. Mr. Whatley needs to state his own personal agenda. That is, everything he is FOR, nothing about what he is against or giving his opponent any fodder to counter. Think Jesse Helms (not for his politics, but for his winning strategy against heavily favored Jim Hunt).
Gov. Cooper reminds me of Gov. Hunt. Warm and fuzzy.
There is nothing warm and fuzzy about a liar:
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/09/16/democrat-roy-cooper-was-sued-for-defamation-and-forced-to-apologize-in-first-statewide-campaign/
Cooper reminds me of Newsom. When Newsom does something in politics, Cooper follows. He’s just not quite as arrogant.
Whatley is a yokel.
NC has been left with no choice for an effective Senator. Just like we never have choices for most political positions. Where are all the good people?
The good people don’t want this job.
Here is what voters have for Senate races: Choosing between a radical Democratic movement and the traditional Republican Party.
The question should be – Will Trump stop driving OUR country further in-debt, the laughing stock of the world, costing we the people higher taxes, gasoline, food, healthcare, etc.. Wasn’t this the guy who promised to end the Ukraine war, lower food prices, lower gasoline prices, lower health care charges? I for one do not believe anything that Trumps says once he opens his mouth. As for the republican party I only see puppets on on a string or hand puppets. I am sure the democrats also have their share. Why can’t congress just do their job and vote the way their constituents want instead of the way the president wants? Cowards? Lazy? Unable to think on their own? Any ideas, anybody??
You know the answer….nobody doubles down on stupid like Trump double down on stupid.
Cheers
It’s unfortunate that most voters are voting for a party rather than a candidate.
Cooper is a liar. If in doubt:
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/09/16/democrat-roy-cooper-was-sued-for-defamation-and-forced-to-apologize-in-first-statewide-campaign/
That’s rich coming from a Trump supporter.
My comment is about Cooper. Why don’t you try to defend Cooper, who clearly lied and was forced to settle and issue an apology. Cooper’s behavior was one of entitlement.
Really, it is no different from his campaign. Cooper believes he is entitled to be elected NC Senator. Well, let’s just throw Cooper to the curb and vote for Whatley.
Whatley may not be the best campaigner but he will make a better Senator than self-serving and entitled Cooper.
Vote Whatley.
In audio clips obtained by Fox News Digital, Cooper rejected the idea that he should sign the “Promise to America” pledge signed by a growing number of House Democrats that affirms that they wholeheartedly reject socialism and love America.
Cooper explained he didn’t want to add his name because he felt the party should be more accommodating of DSA members.
“I think the party needs a wide spectrum, particularly at a time when the Republican Party is shrinking and having all kinds of loyalty tests,” Cooper said, according to the Fox News reports. “I think we need to have all kinds of folks to be a part of our party.”
Scott Yost’s article focuses on Trump’s visit and the polling, but Roy Cooper’s record deserves just as much attention. A lead in the polls does not answer whether his priorities are right for North Carolina.
In 2024, Cooper vetoed legislation requiring sheriffs to cooperate with federal immigration authorities and expanding private-school voucher funding. I disagree with those decisions. I want a senator who supports immigration enforcement, greater educational choice for families, and responsible use of taxpayer dollars.
Whatley should have to earn our votes by explaining his own plans, not simply pointing to Trump’s endorsement. Cooper should face the same scrutiny rather than coast on name recognition.
For me, this election comes down to policy, judgment, and accountability. We cannot afford to send Roy Cooper to Washington simply because he is familiar. His record has not earned my support.
The Republicans just couldn’t find a candidate with some track record to run for Senate. The average person has known Cooper for part of the last 40 years. I bet the average Republican (or Democrat) never heard of Whatley. He started the campaign so far behind Cooper and never really did much to allow the voters to actually get to know him, his story and agenda. It’s all mostly ads (pro Whatley and anti-Cooper) funded by out of state money. A few sound bites and that is it. So, I guess the new normal is the big, national money picks the party’s candidate now. Whatley should have been campaigning hard, go to every chicken dinner in every county, mix with the voters and tell your story. But no, his only story is: “I support Trump.” Well, sorry, Trump is gone in two years. This is such nonsense.
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Dead right.
Whatley was parachuted in by the national party. It displays arrogance on the part of the GOP, but they’re about to learn a lesson as Whatley returns to obscurity, never to be heard of again.
I’d prefer NC to have two Republican US Senators, but this guy was never a plausible candidate.
Oh, Austin, say it ain’t so. Whatley is unknown but that doesn’t mean he won’t make a good senator. Vote for him to keep the Republican majority and keep the Democrats from running amock should they become the majority. Sometimes a person must decide on the greater good.
Campaigning is not Whatley’s forte. He does not have the experience of glad handing like Cooper. I have not seen any political ads, but I get the gist from what I read. What NC Republican would you have chosen to run?
What was that line from Ronald Reagan’s movie, Knute Rockne, “win one for the Gipper?” Well, win one for the Senate and America’s sanity, vote for Michael Whatley. Knute Rockne is a fitting analogy since Whatley is a graduate of Notre Dame.
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But it is so, TL.
Whatley is a crap candidate who never stood a chance.
President No-No.
Synopsis: Wutley ?