Politics

Poll: Cooper Leads Whatley by 11 Points in North Carolina Senate Race

A double-digit polling margin in a battleground state suggests the North Carolina Senate contest may be more competitive for Republicans than national party strategists had projected.

Gab-E Intelligence Platform · August 13, 2026

Former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper (D) holds an 11-percentage-point lead over former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley in the state's 2026 U.S. Senate race, according to a poll published by Elon University. The survey of likely voters shows Cooper at 53 percent and Whatley at 42 percent, with 3 percent of respondents indicating support for another candidate, as reported by The Hill on August 13, 2026.

The Elon University Poll is a recognized public survey operation affiliated with Elon University in North Carolina. The publication did not specify the poll's margin of error, sample size, or field dates in the summary reported by The Hill. Those methodological details, which are material to interpreting the result, would be available in the full Elon University Poll release.

Cooper served two terms as North Carolina's governor from 2017 to 2025, winning his first term in 2016 and his second in 2020, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections. Whatley served as chair of the Republican National Committee from January 2024 through early 2025, a tenure documented in RNC organizational records.

North Carolina is currently represented in the U.S. Senate by Senators Thom Tillis (R) and Ted Budd (R), according to the official U.S. Senate roster. The seat in this race is not identified in the available source material. The Congressional Times was unable to confirm from the summary which Senate seat is being contested or whether it is an open seat or a challenge to an incumbent.

What remains unknown includes the poll's full methodology, field dates, sample size, and margin of error. Those details would be contained in the complete Elon University Poll release. It is also unknown which Senate seat is the subject of this contest. A review of North Carolina Federal Election Commission filings for both candidates would reveal fundraising totals and donor composition to date.

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Poll: Cooper Leads Whatley by 11 Points in North Carolina Senate Race

We Follow the Data, Not the Narrative

How We Source, Verify, and Correct Our Work

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