United States
North Carolina Senate polls 2026
Senate election 3 Nov 2026, in 3 days.
Roy Cooper leads the polling average with 51.6%, 10.3 points ahead of Michael Whatley.
Average
Updated 34 minutes ago
Michael Whatley
41.4
+0.6
Trend
Roy CooperMichael Whatley
Stances
Roy CooperMichael Whatley
Immigration
ExpandRestrictRemigration
Economy
Free marketState-directed
Abortion
Broad accessProtect unborn life
Marriage & family
Individual choiceTraditional
National culture
CosmopolitanPreserve heritage
Technology
Light-touchRein in Big Tech
Scores and reasons written by AI. Methodology
Why these scores
Immigration
- Roy Cooper: 3.5 of 10 As governor vetoed 2019 HB370 and 2024 HB10 requiring sheriffs to honour ICE detainers
- Michael Whatley: 7.5 of 10 '100% supportive' of Trump securing the border and deporting millions of illegal immigrants
Economy
- Roy Cooper: 5 of 10 Expanded Medicaid in 2023; vetoed Republican budgets over income tax cuts and favoured teacher raises
- Michael Whatley: 2 of 10 Backs middle-class tax cuts, no tax on tips, overtime or Social Security, and Trump's tariffs
Christian identity
- Roy Cooper: 2.5 of 10 Fought 2023 universal expansion of Opportunity Scholarships, mostly used at religious schools; no faith-policy agenda
- Michael Whatley: 6 of 10 No religion-policy proposals; runs on 'protecting life' and Trump's agenda, endorsed by SBA Pro-Life America
Abortion
- Roy Cooper: 1.5 of 10 Vetoed 2023 12-week abortion ban (SB20) and 2019 'born alive' bill; legislature overrode the first
- Michael Whatley: 6 of 10 Endorsed by SBA Pro-Life America and National Right to Life; pledges 'protecting life' without specific limits
Marriage & family
- Roy Cooper: 2 of 10 Vetoed 2023 bans on youth gender-transition care and transgender girls in sports; refused to defend HB2
- Michael Whatley: 5.5 of 10 Pledges to keep 'radical woke ideology' out of schools; no specific marriage or gender policy stated
National culture
- Roy Cooper: 2.5 of 10 Vetoed 2021 bill restricting how schools teach race and 'divisive concepts'
- Michael Whatley: 6.5 of 10 Campaigns against 'woke ideology' in schools and for Trump's America First agenda
Subsidiarity
- Roy Cooper: 4 of 10 Vetoed universal private-school voucher expansion; defended governor's powers against legislature
- Michael Whatley: 5.5 of 10 Wants Washington's 'reckless spending' reined in; no specific devolution proposal
Technology
- Roy Cooper: 6 of 10 As attorney general led 2008 multistate deals forcing MySpace and Facebook child-safety measures; no Senate tech plan
- Michael Whatley: 3 of 10 No tech or AI platform found; scored at the Republicans' light-touch 2025 stance he runs on