Will a Trump stump in NC help Senate candidate Michael Whatley?
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Good morning! It’s Danielle Battaglia with the latest edition of Under the Dome focused on the Trump administration.
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If you’re a fan of President Donald Trump, this is your week.
The president plans to visit Gastonia on Wednesday to help bolster U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley’s campaign. It’s the first time Trump has been to North Carolina since February.
It’s an interesting strategy for Whatley.
The 57-year-old Republican from Gastonia is running against former Gov. Roy Cooper, 69, a Democrat from Raleigh. Both want to succeed two-term Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, who chose to retire after publicly feuding with Trump over North Carolina’s Medicaid coverage.
But Whatley has trailed behind Cooper in every poll since they both got into the race in July 2025.
Whatley served as both state and national Republican party leader.
He helped Trump win North Carolinia in 2016, 2020 and 2024. Whatley was at the helm of the national party when Trump was reelected nationwide for his second-term.
When Tillis dropped out of the race, Trump handpicked Whatley to succeed him.
But political watchers wondered whether Whatley would try to distance himself from the president in the midterms or remain in lockstep with him.
Midterms are notoriously harder for the party in power and can serve as an indictment on the president.
Trump’s favor in North Carolina has largely declined, as the economy continues to affect North Carolina voters.
In 2024, Trump won North Carolina with 51% of the vote. On Thursday, East Carolina University released a poll showing Trump’s approval rating in North Carolina at 39%. Elon University also released a poll Thursday with worse numbers for Trump. In Elon’s poll, Trump had a 31% approval rating.
Whatley didn’t fare much better.
ECU’s poll showed Cooper up 46-39% and at Elon, 39-29%.
However, the cross tabs may show some of the thought process of having Trump come stump for Whatley.
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It’s impossible for the Whatley campaign to separate from Trump. Whatley has built a career on building Trump’s own political career.
The campaign can lean into that with undecided Republican voters. Of the Democrats polled by Elon University, 91% said they would vote for Cooper, but only 86% of Republicans said they would vote for Whatley. The rest of the votes either went to third party candidates, remained undecided or planned not to vote.
A Trump rally in Whatley’s hometown could help capture some of those missing Republican votes to close the gap between Whatley and Cooper.
It’s the same bet the campaign made by having Whatley speak at the unusual midterm Republican National Convention held in Dallas last week.
Trump plans to speak at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Gastonia Municipal Airport. Tickets are available here.
That’s it for now. Be kind to each other. And check back tomorrow for the Under the Dome podcast.
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This story was originally published September 14, 2026 at 5:30 AM with the headline “Will a Trump stump in NC help Senate candidate Michael Whatley?.”
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