A new poll of the North Carolina Senate election points to a close race between former Governor Roy Cooper and Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley in what is likely to be one of the most competitive of the 2026 midterms. Matt Mercer, a North Carolina GOP spokesperson, told Newsweek that the poll should be "alarming for Democrats ."

Strategists say Cooper’s entry makes North Carolina a more difficult seat for the GOP to hold, though a Democrat hasn’t won a Senate race in the traditionally competitive state since 2008.