Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) has an early lead over Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley in the North Carolina Senate race as the candidates appear poised for a general election match-up.
The Emerson College Polling survey, released Friday, shows Cooper leading Whatley by 6 points, 47 percent to 41 percent, with 12 percent undecided. The former governor also starts out with a considerable advantage in name recognition, with 84 percent having a view — either favorable or unfavorable — of him, while only a third seemed to have a view of the RNC chief.
“With over a year to go until the North Carolina U.S. Senate race, Whatley’s low name recognition presents both a challenge and an opportunity, while only 17% view him favorably, nearly two-thirds of voters either don’t know him or are unsure,” Spencer Kimball, the executive director of Emerson College Polling, said in the release. “That leaves room for his campaign to define him before his opponent does.”
Just more than half of respondents said they view Cooper favorably, while a third view him unfavorably. Meanwhile, Whatley is viewed favorably by 17 percent and unfavorably by 16 percent, putting his net favorability about even, according to the poll.
The percentage of voters who aren’t familiar with a candidate usually drops as the campaign advances, but its effect on polling of the race and the candidates’ favorability is uncertain.
Cooper’s lead is largely powered by a 19-point advantage among independents, 47 percent to 28 percent, and a 25-point lead among voters under 50, 54 percent to 29 percent. Whatley’s advantage comes with voters over 50, ahead 52 percent to 41 percent, the survey shows.
Both Cooper and Whatley entered the race this week; the Emerson poll is one of the first of the potential general election match-up. Both seem to be clear favorites for their nominations, with their respective parties largely coalescing around them.
Cooper first joined the race Monday after months of speculation and raised $3.4 million in the first 24 hours of his campaign. Democrats see the seat, currently held by retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R), as one of their best pickup opportunities in 2026.
Whatley launched his candidacy Thursday already with an endorsement from President Trump, and he quickly received the support of top Senate GOP names, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune (S.D.) and Sen. Tim Scott (S.C.), the chair of Senate Republicans’ campaign arm.
The poll was conducted July 28-30 among 1,000 registered voters. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.
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