RALEIGH — In an interview with North State Journal ahead of the March 3 primary, North Carolina U.S. Senate Republican candidate Michael Whatley drew a sharp contrast between the priorities of his candidacy and that of his likely opponent, former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.
Whatley and Cooper still need to get past multiple primary opponents, and Whatley said he remained positive as the March 3 primary approaches.
Whatley laid out his priorities of keeping North Carolinians safe, making sure they had more money in their pockets and upholding North Carolina values. Specifically mentioned were creating jobs, raising wages, bringing down costs, and fighting for tax and regulatory policies that will help the state’s manufacturers, small businesses and farmers.
“I don’t think we’ve ever had a Senate race with a bigger contrast between the two candidates,” Whatley told North State Journal. “And that really is going to focus on me fighting for North Carolina families and North Carolina values and Roy Cooper fighting for illegal aliens, criminals and special interest from California, Illinois and New York.”
Crime and safety
Whatley drew attention to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech, during which the president spoke about Iryna Zarutska, the Ukrainian immigrant murdered on Charlotte’s light rail system in August 2025 while highlighting the need for stronger violent crime legislation.
“And there is, unfortunately, no brighter example, more clear example, of the need for that than the murder of Iryna Zarutska,” Whatley said of Trump’s call for stronger laws. “I think it is very important that the president chose to highlight this particular crime as part of the State of the Union and to honor Iryna’s mother.”
Whatley added he was “shocked that the entire Democratic Party refused to stand up and recognize this this brave woman.”
Recent reports have shown that crime has dropped significantly nationwide during Trump’s first year in office, with crime in large cities falling to the lowest level in 125 years.
The White House also posted a photo on X of Zarutska’s mother, Anna, who was a special guest of the president that evening. The post also linked Cooper to her daughter’s alleged murderer, Decarlos Brown Jr., a repeat offender.
Over the past month, Brown’s name appeared on a list of inmates released by Cooper during the pandemic. So far, Cooper has not answered questions about how the list was created or how Brown ended up on the list.
“Roy Cooper owes the people of North Carolina an explanation,” Whatley said. “He owes the people of North Carolina a lot of explanations.”
Whatley questioned how the list was created and how Brown landed on it, but also why it was hidden from public view for so long.
“And then he sealed the records … prevented anybody from seeing the list, assured the people of North Carolina that there were no violent criminals on the list, which clearly was a lie, and walked away as if it had never happened,” said Whatley, calling Cooper’s actions “extremely reckless.”
The Gastonia native also highlighted a recent analysis of the people on the release list, which included a large percentage of recidivists and 51 people serving life sentences.
The Cooper campaign has called the claims about the prisoner list “lies” and issued statements to media that Brown “was not released from prison as a result of a court-ordered settlement but in fact served his full sentence and was not released early.”
Democrat pivot to affordability
When asked about Democrats adopting 2024 Republican talking points on “affordability,” Whatley said he found it ironic.
“Republicans won the 2024 election by talking about affordability,” said Whatley, who as chair of the Republican National Committee helped propel Trump to a second term.
“Right now, Republicans are the ones, led by President Trump, who are trying to get the American economy back onto a solid footing,” said Whatley. “And it is ironic that the Democratic Party, whose policies put America into that ditch, are now trying to campaign on it.”
“The fact is Roy Cooper has never seen a dollar that he did not want to tax or spend,” added Whatley, citing Cooper’s record as a state lawmaker of voting for tax increases and vetoing multiple tax cut bills.
On Thursday, Cooper rolled out a new effort focused on affordability titled “make stuff cost less.” The new effort has few details other than mentioning rent, utilities and health care, but there is no mention yet of education as Trump’s federal school choice tax credit program remains unrealized in North Carolina.
Whatley said he backs Trump’s program, which would help families cut costs in finding the best educational fit for their kids. Cooper, throughout his tenure as governor, repeatedly attacked school choice options like the state’s Opportunity Scholarship program and vetoed bills associated with the program, as well as bills on school choice, most of which were overridden.
In all, Cooper vetoed 104 bills as governor, eclipsing the 35 combined vetoes issued by the four previous governors who held that power.
Economic “turnaround”
Whatley went on to lay out indicators the economy was getting back on track, such as rent and mortgage prices starting to go down, as well as drops in gas and energy prices. He said those indicators were important, but the money people take home is key.
“That’s an agenda that we really need to be advancing right now,” he said.
He noted the country was seeing a “turnaround” in the economy with “hundreds of thousands of jobs have been created” and real wages going up by 5% year over year. Additionally, he cited the latest inflation rate at 2.5%, beating expectations and well below the 7% under Joe Biden.
“The average family in North Carolina is seeing thousands of dollars more in terms of their tax refunds this year than they’ve had in the past,” Whatley said. “That is a critical factor that Roy Cooper adamantly opposes and said he would have voted against.”
Insider claims a “stretch”
Cooper and North Carolina Democrats have also tried to paint Whatley as a D.C. insider or big oil lobbyist. Whatley said it was a “stretch.”
“The fact that I was an energy consultant for several years and worked every day to bring down gasoline prices and make sure that we have affordable, reliable electricity, it seems a bit of a stretch to say that is a bad thing,” Whatley said. “And particularly when that is coming from the camp of a career politician who’s been in office for 38 years; he’s never had a paycheck.”
