RALEIGH – Democrat Roy Cooper is projected to win North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race, defeating Republican Michael Whatley and flipping the seat held by retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, according to Decision Desk HQ.
Decision Desk HQ marked the race for Cooper at 8:23 p.m. Tuesday. ABC11, in reporting that included contributions from The Associated Press, also reported Cooper as the projected winner. The call concerns the outcome of the Senate contest, not a completed state certification.
Cooper’s projected victory changes the party holding this North Carolina seat. It does not, by itself, establish which party will control the U.S. Senate. That question depends on the results of other contests across the country.
The former governor entered the race with a record of winning statewide elections. He was elected governor in 2016 and reelected in 2020, both years when Donald Trump carried North Carolina. Before serving as governor, Cooper was the state’s attorney general.
Whatley previously chaired the North Carolina Republican Party and the Republican National Committee. He ran with Trump’s backing. Tillis decided against seeking a third term, making this an open-seat contest rather than a challenge to a senator seeking reelection.
The projected result is distinct from the preelection polls and race ratings that tracked the contest. Those measured preferences or assessed the campaign before voting ended; Tuesday’s decision is an election-night call as returns are reported.
Official vote reporting remains a separate process. The State Board of Elections says election-night results are unofficial and arrive in stages as counties report approved mail ballots, early votes and Election Day precinct results.
Additional eligible military and overseas ballots, provisional ballots and successfully cured absentee ballots can be added during the canvass period as county boards approve them. Election-night figures should therefore not be treated as a final certified tally.
This account reports the projected winner without assigning a final vote margin or treating partial returns as complete.
Sources
- Decision Desk HQ: Original North Carolina Senate race call
- ABC11: Projected result and candidate context
- State Board of Elections: Unofficial reporting and canvass process
Photo Credit: File photograph of Roy Cooper speaking in Raleigh on July 25, 2019, by U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Mary Junell/North Carolina National Guard, via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain in the United States. Cropped and resized; not an election-night photograph. NCPN logo is a separate brand mark.
Editor’s Note: This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and fact-checked by a member of the NC Political News editorial team before publication.