2026 United States Senate election in North Carolina
The 2026 United States Senate election in North Carolina will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of North Carolina. Republican former party chair Michael Whatley and Democratic former governor Roy Cooper are seeking their first term in office. The winner will succeed Republican incumbent Thom Tillis, who is not seeking re-election to a third term.
Article
2026 United States Senate election in North Carolina
The 2026 United States Senate election in North Carolina will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of North Carolina. Republican former party chair Michael Whatley and Democratic former governor Roy Cooper are seeking their first term in office. The winner will succeed Republican incumbent Thom Tillis, who is not seeking re-election to a third term.
Whatley, who emerged as the Republican frontrunner after being endorsed by President Donald Trump, won the nomination with 64.6% of the vote over author Don Brown. Cooper won the Democratic nomination with 92% of the vote, facing minimal opposition. Democrats have not won a Senate election in North Carolina since (/wiki/2008UnitedStatesSenateelectioninNorthCarolina).
Background
2026 United States Senate election in North Carolina
A swing state, North Carolina is considered to be a purple to slightly red Southern state at the federal level. It was also a top battleground state in the (/wiki/2020UnitedStatespresidentialelectioninNorthCarolina) and (/wiki/2024UnitedStatespresidentialelectioninNorthCarolina) presidential elections. The state backed Donald Trump in both elections by 1.3% and 3.2%, respectively.
Both parties have seen success in the state in recent years. Republicans control both chambers of the North Carolina General Assembly and hold a supermajority in North Carolina's U.S. House delegation, as well as both of the state's U.S. Senate seats. In (/wiki/2024NorthCarolinaCouncilofStateelections), Democrats won half of the state's executive offices, flipping a net of one seat from Republicans.
As an open seat in a swing state, North Carolina is considered a top battleground in deciding control of the Senate in 2026.
Republican primary
2026 United States Senate election in North Carolina
Senator Thom Tillis was considered vulnerable to a primary challenger from his right. On June 10, 2023, the North Carolina Republican Party voted to censure Tillis for his support for the Respect for Marriage Act and immigration reform attempts. On June 28, 2025, President Donald Trump stated he was considering backing a primary challenger after Tillis voted against a motion to consider the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The following day, Tillis announced that he would not seek re-election.
Nominee
• Michael Whatley, former chair of the Republican National Committee (2024–2025)
Eliminated in primary
• Don Brown, attorney, author, and candidate for North Carolina's 8th congressional district in (/wiki/2024UnitedStatesHouseofRepresentativeselectionsinNorthCarolina#District8) • Richard Dansie, IT security engineer • Thomas Johnson, businessman • Michele Morrow, former nurse and nominee for North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction in (/wiki/2024NorthCarolinaCouncilofStateelections#SuperintendentofPublicInstruction) • Elizabeth Temple, teacher and candidate for North Carolina's 28th House district in 2024
Withdrawn
• Andy Nilsson, retired business owner and high school football coach • Thom Tillis, incumbent U.S. senator (2015–present)
Declined
• Pat Harrigan, U.S. representative from North Carolina's 10th congressional district (2025–present) (running for re-election) • Richard Hudson, U.S. representative from North Carolina's 9th congressional district (2013–present) (running for re-election) • Greg Murphy, U.S. representative from North Carolina's 3rd congressional district (2019–present) (running for re-election) • Mark Robinson, former lieutenant governor of North Carolina (2021–2025) and nominee for governor in (/wiki/2024NorthCarolinagubernatorialelection) (endorsed Brown) • Lara Trump, former co-chair of the Republican National Committee (2024–2025) and daughter-in-law of President Donald Trump (endorsed Whatley) • Mark Walker, Principal Advisor on Global Religious Freedom to the State Department, former U.S. representative from North Carolina's 6th congressional district (2015–2021), and candidate for U.S. Senate in (/wiki/2022UnitedStatesSenateelectioninNorthCarolina)
Fundraising
<table><thead><tr><th>Campaign finance reports as of February 11, 2026</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Candidate</td><td>Raised</td><td>Spent</td><td>Cash on hand</td></tr><tr><td>Don Brown (R)</td><td>$187,238</td><td>$164,131</td><td>$23,947</td></tr><tr><td>Richard Dansie (R)</td><td>$2,410</td><td>$1,780</td><td>$630</td></tr><tr><td>Thomas Johnson (R)</td><td>$5,400</td><td>$3,307</td><td>$464</td></tr><tr><td>Michele Morrow (R)</td><td>$10,720</td><td>$5,472</td><td>$5,248</td></tr><tr><td>Michael Whatley (R)</td><td>$6,272,873</td><td>$3,745,288</td><td>$2,527,585</td></tr><tr><td>Source: Federal Election Commission</td></tr></tbody></table>
Polling
<table><thead><tr><th>Poll source</th><th>Date(s) administered</th><th>Sample size</th><th>Margin of error</th><th>Don Brown</th><th>Michele Morrow</th><th>Michael Whatley</th><th>Other</th><th>Undecided</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Harper Polling (R)</td><td>February 22–23, 2026</td><td>600 (LV)</td><td>± 4.0%</td><td>8%</td><td>2%</td><td>38%</td><td>3%</td><td>50%</td></tr><tr><td>High Point University</td><td>February 6–20, 2026</td><td>– (LV)</td><td>± 6.0%</td><td>12%</td><td>2%</td><td>38%</td><td>13%</td><td>35%</td></tr><tr><td>Change Research (D)</td><td>January 5–7, 2026</td><td>530 (LV)</td><td>–</td><td>6%</td><td>4%</td><td>36%</td><td>3%</td><td>51%</td></tr></tbody></table>
Results
Results by county Whatley
<table><thead><tr><th>Party</th><th>Candidate</th><th>Votes</th><th>%</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td></td><td>Republican</td><td>Michael Whatley</td><td>405,140</td><td>64.6</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Republican</td><td>Don Brown</td><td>97,890</td><td>15.6</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Republican</td><td>Thomas Johnson</td><td>35,534</td><td>5.7</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Republican</td><td>Michele Morrow</td><td>35,065</td><td>5.6</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Republican</td><td>Elizabeth Temple</td><td>23,892</td><td>3.8</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Republican</td><td>Richard Dansie</td><td>14,996</td><td>2.4</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Republican</td><td>Margot Dupre (Disqualified)</td><td>14,885</td><td>2.4</td></tr><tr><td>Total votes</td><td>627,402</td><td>100.0</td></tr></tbody></table>
Democratic primary
Nominee
• Roy Cooper, former governor of North Carolina (2017–2025)
Eliminated in primary
• Robert Colon, family caregiver and perennial candidate • Justin Dues, tech consultant and nominee for North Carolina's 8th congressional district in (/wiki/2024UnitedStatesHouseofRepresentativeselectionsinNorthCarolina#District8) • Daryl Farrow, businessman and nominee for North Carolina's 3rd congressional district in (/wiki/2020UnitedStatesHouseofRepresentativeselectionsinNorthCarolina#District3) • Orrick Quick, pastor • Marcus Williams, attorney and perennial candidate
Withdrawn
• Wiley Nickel, former U.S. representative from North Carolina's 13th congressional district (2023–2025) (endorsed Cooper, running for Wake County District Attorney)
Declined
• Don Davis, U.S. representative from North Carolina's 1st congressional district (2023–present) (running for re-election) • Jeff Jackson, attorney general of North Carolina (2025–present) (endorsed Cooper) • Deborah Ross, U.S. representative from North Carolina's 2nd congressional district (2021–present) and nominee for U.S. Senate in (/wiki/2016UnitedStatesSenateelectioninNorthCarolina) (endorsed Cooper, running for re-election) • Zeb Smathers, mayor of Canton (endorsed Cooper)
Fundraising
<table><thead><tr><th>Campaign finance reports as of February 19, 2026</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Candidate</td><td>Raised</td><td>Spent</td><td>Cash on hand</td></tr><tr><td>Roy Cooper (D)</td><td>$21,070,823</td><td>$6,842,849</td><td>$14,227,974</td></tr><tr><td>Marcus Williams (D)</td><td>$2,557</td><td>$2,457</td><td>$100</td></tr><tr><td>Source: Federal Election Commission</td></tr></tbody></table>
Polling
<table><thead><tr><th>Poll source</th><th>Date(s) administered</th><th>Sample size</th><th>Margin of error</th><th>Robert Colon</th><th>Roy Cooper</th><th>Justin Dues</th><th>Daryl Farrow</th><th>Marcus Williams</th><th>Other</th><th>Undecided</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>High Point University</td><td>February 6–20, 2026</td><td>– (LV)</td><td>± 6.0%</td><td>3%</td><td>78%</td><td>3%</td><td>2%</td><td>2%</td><td>0%</td><td>14%</td></tr></tbody></table>
Results
Results by county Cooper
<table><thead><tr><th>Party</th><th>Candidate</th><th>Votes</th><th>%</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td></td><td>Democratic</td><td>Roy Cooper</td><td>761,339</td><td>92.0</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Democratic</td><td>Justin Dues</td><td>22,295</td><td>2.7</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Democratic</td><td>Marcus Williams</td><td>20,336</td><td>2.5</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Democratic</td><td>Daryl Farrow</td><td>9,727</td><td>1.2</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Democratic</td><td>Orrick Quick</td><td>7,275</td><td>0.9</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Democratic</td><td>Robert Colon</td><td>6,777</td><td>0.8</td></tr><tr><td>Total votes</td><td>827,749</td><td>100.0</td></tr></tbody></table>
Libertarian primary
Nominee
• Shannon Bray, cybersecurity professional and perennial candidate
Green primary
Nominee
• Brian McGinnis, anti-war activist, Marine veteran, and firefighter
General election
Predictions
<table><thead><tr><th>Source</th><th>Ranking</th><th>As of</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>The Cook Political Report</td><td>Tossup</td><td>October 14, 2025</td></tr><tr><td>Race To The WH</td><td>Likely D (flip)</td><td>March 27, 2026</td></tr><tr><td>Inside Elections</td><td>Tossup</td><td>August 12, 2025</td></tr><tr><td>Sabato's Crystal Ball</td><td>Tossup</td><td>August 12, 2025</td></tr></tbody></table>
Polling
<table><thead><tr><th>Source of poll aggregation</th><th>Dates administered</th><th>Dates updated</th><th>Michael Whatley (R)</th><th>Roy Cooper (D)</th><th>Other/Undecided</th><th>Margin</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Race to the WH</td><td>through March 31, 2026</td><td>April 1, 2026</td><td>37.3%</td><td>47.9%</td><td>14.8%</td><td>Cooper +10.6%</td></tr><tr><td>270toWin</td><td>March 16–31, 2026</td><td>April 1, 2026</td><td>37.8%</td><td>48.5%</td><td>13.7%</td><td>Cooper +10.7%</td></tr><tr><td>RealClearPolitics</td><td>July 28, 2025 – March 23, 2026</td><td>March 26, 2026</td><td>39.0%</td><td>47.5%</td><td>13.5%</td><td>Cooper +8.5%</td></tr><tr><td>Average</td><td>38.0%</td><td>48.0%</td><td>14.0%</td><td>Cooper +10.0%</td></tr></tbody></table>
<table><thead><tr><th>Poll source</th><th>Date(s) administered</th><th>Sample size</th><th>Margin of error</th><th>Michael Whatley (R)</th><th>Roy Cooper (D)</th><th>Other</th><th>Undecided</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Harper Polling (R)</td><td>March 22–23, 2026</td><td>600 (LV)</td><td>± 4.0%</td><td>41%</td><td>49%</td><td>4%</td><td>6%</td></tr><tr><td>Catawba College/YouGov</td><td>March 9–18, 2026</td><td>1,000 (LV)</td><td>± 3.6%</td><td>34%</td><td>48%</td><td>4%</td><td>14%</td></tr><tr><td>Public Policy Polling (D)</td><td>March 13–14, 2026</td><td>556 (V)</td><td>± 4.2%</td><td>44%</td><td>47%</td><td>–</td><td>9%</td></tr><tr><td>Nexus Strategies/ Strategic Partners Solutions</td><td>March 8–9, 2026</td><td>800 (RV)</td><td>± 3.5%</td><td>32%</td><td>50%</td><td>4%</td><td>14%</td></tr><tr><td>Change Research (D)</td><td>January 31 – February 4, 2026</td><td>1,069 (RV)</td><td>± 3.1%</td><td>40%</td><td>50%</td><td>4%</td><td>7%</td></tr><tr><td>TIPP Insights (R)</td><td>January 12–15, 2026</td><td>1,512 (RV)</td><td>± 2.7%</td><td>24%</td><td>48%</td><td>–</td><td>27%</td></tr><tr><td>Change Research (D)</td><td>January 5–7, 2026</td><td>1,105 (LV)</td><td>± 3.5%</td><td>42%</td><td>47%</td><td>1%</td><td>9%</td></tr><tr><td>Harper Polling (R)</td><td>November 9–10, 2025</td><td>600 (LV)</td><td>± 4.0%</td><td>39%</td><td>47%</td><td>4%</td><td>10%</td></tr><tr><td>Harper Polling (R)</td><td>September 14–15, 2025</td><td>600 (RV)</td><td>± 4.0%</td><td>42%</td><td>46%</td><td>4%</td><td>8%</td></tr><tr><td>Change Research (D)</td><td>September 2–8, 2025</td><td>855 (LV)</td><td>± 3.6%</td><td>41%</td><td>48%</td><td>–</td><td>11%</td></tr><tr><td>Harper Polling (R)</td><td>August 11–12, 2025</td><td>600 (RV)</td><td>± 4.0%</td><td>39%</td><td>47%</td><td>4%</td><td>10%</td></tr><tr><td>Emerson College</td><td>July 28–30, 2025</td><td>1,000 (RV)</td><td>± 3.0%</td><td>41%</td><td>47%</td><td>–</td><td>12%</td></tr><tr><td>Victory Insights (R)</td><td>July 28–30, 2025</td><td>600 (LV)</td><td>–</td><td>40%</td><td>43%</td><td>–</td><td>16%</td></tr><tr><td>44%</td><td>44%</td><td>–</td><td>12%</td></tr></tbody></table>