RALEIGH – Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley’s campaign has temporarily pulled its television advertisements while changing whom it is targeting during the final weeks of North Carolina’s open-seat race.
A campaign source told McClatchy on Wednesday that the pause is a short-term adjustment. The source said the campaign believes it still has the money needed to reach voters who make late decisions and to compete through Election Day. The campaign did not provide a date for the ads to resume or identify the markets affected by the new strategy.
The change involves television spending by Whatley’s own campaign. It is separate from earlier decisions by independent Republican groups to reduce or redirect planned spending in North Carolina.
WLOS reported Oct. 2 that Whatley campaign advertising had stopped in the Asheville television market at the end of September. The station also reported that the Senate Leadership Fund, a Republican super PAC, was moving resources to other states after spending more than $30 million to support Whatley.
WRAL reported the same day that the Senate Leadership Fund had reserved at least $15 million more in North Carolina advertising before pausing its spending. WRAL also reported that another Republican group, Old North Action, had canceled $6.5 million in reservations while retaining other advertising commitments in the state.
Whatley campaign spokesman DJ Griffin told WRAL before the campaign’s own temporary pause became public that the campaign remained confident it had the resources to make its case. Jeff Allen, campaign manager for Democratic nominee Roy Cooper, told the station that the race was not over and described North Carolina as closely divided.
The candidates are seeking the seat being vacated by Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis. Whatley is a former chairman of the Republican National Committee. Cooper is a former two-term governor and four-term attorney general.
Television reservations are one measure of campaign activity, not an election result. The central report relies on an unnamed campaign source, and no public media plan was released with it. The timing, duration and geographic reach of the pause therefore remain unclear. Any later ad placements, fundraising reports or campaign announcements could change the picture before voters make their final choice.
Sources
- McClatchy/The News & Observer report syndicated by AOL, Oct. 7, 2026
- WLOS report on campaign and outside-group advertising, Oct. 2, 2026
- WRAL report on outside-group advertising and campaign responses, Oct. 2, 2026
Photo Credit: Whatley for Senate campaign-provided photograph from the official media toolkit; used for media coverage. Source: michaelwhatley.com/media-tool-kit/ Original image: official campaign photograph.
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.