Four years later, it’s NC Republicans pleading for more national party help | Opinion
With Roy Cooper maintaining his lead over Michael Whatley in recent polls, Republicans find themselves in unfamiliar territory: convincing their party that North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race is worth more investment.
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According to a new report from POLITICO, Republicans in North Carolina are begging their national counterparts to dump more money into the race. It was once expected to be the most competitive and expensive Senate race in the country, but as the dynamics have changed, national attention has shifted to states like Maine, Ohio and Texas.
“Michael Whatley has to give them a reason to talk about North Carolina, and so far he hasn’t. That’s the challenge,” one GOP state official told POLITICO.
Republicans believe that an influx of cash could help Whatley overcome his steep deficit and combat his lack of name recognition, according to the report. In the words of one Republican legislator quoted in the report: “If you don’t have the money, you can’t get your message out there.”
Ironically, it’s the same position that North Carolina Democrats were in four years ago, when they pleaded for more resources to support Cheri Beasley in a midterm environment that favored Republicans. Though the GOP had all the momentum — Ted Budd averaged a 5-point polling lead over Beasley — Democrats believed more attention and investment could give Beasley a boost.
But Beasley faced the same problem that Whatley does now: resources are finite, and there were other, closer races that needed them more. Pro-Democratic groups spent significantly more in battleground races in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona, which were more competitive and therefore more crucial to maintaining their Senate majority.
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To be clear, some investment has already been made in Whatley’s campaign. The Senate Leadership Fund, a Republican PAC, committed $71 million to North Carolina earlier this year, second only to its $79 million investment in Ohio. That’s more than Democrats have committed to the race so far, and Republicans still have a lot of cash left in the bank. Donald Trump’s own political war chest, MAGA Inc., is sitting on $350 million, but it’s unclear where that money will be spent, or if it will be spent at all.
But when it comes time to spend that money, it may be difficult to make the case that North Carolina should be among the biggest recipients, at least in this election cycle. North Carolina represents the Democrats’ best chance to flip a Senate seat, which also means it’s the seat Republicans will have the hardest time defending. There are four toss-up races in Ohio, Alaska, Maine and Michigan that will likely receive more investment than North Carolina, which for now has lost its toss-up status.
Unexpected headwinds in other states have likely also bumped North Carolina further down the list of GOP priorities. Republicans find themselves locked in surprisingly close races in Texas and Iowa, and recent polling suggests that both are more competitive than North Carolina is right now. It’s forced them to allocate more resources to seats they didn’t expect to need much investment at all. Lindsey Graham’s death also complicates things in South Carolina, where Republicans may need to spend a little more to support a non-incumbent entering the race at the last minute. Of course, if Democrats also begin to focus more on those races, it may mean less money pouring in for Cooper, too.
Ultimately, Whatley’s struggles likely stem more from a situational challenge than a fundamental shift in the political landscape. While demand elsewhere may force him to take a back seat this cycle, that doesn’t mean national Republicans won’t continue to prioritize the state in the future. If anything, a Democratic win will simply reignite North Carolina’s status as a true battleground state that’s winnable for both parties. Come 2028, all eyes may be on North Carolina once again.
Deputy Opinion Editor Paige Masten covers politics and the 2026 elections for The Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer.
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