GOP Senate Campaign Goes Dark During Home Stretch

Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley has no television ads currently booked for the final weeks of North Carolina’s Senate race, as his campaign faces a widening polling gap against Democrat Roy Cooper and national Republican groups scale back their spending in the state.

Whatley’s last broadcast television ad aired October 7, according to political ad-tracking firm AdImpact. As of Wednesday, his campaign had no future linear TV reservations scheduled through election day, November 3.

The disparity in future television advertising is substantial. According to AdImpact data, Cooper’s campaign has $7.4 million in future TV reservations, compared with none currently booked by Whatley’s campaign. Democrat-aligned outside groups have reserved another $11.2 million for Cooper, while Republican outside groups have $4.7 million reserved for Whatley — roughly a four-to-one advantage in future booked television spending.

The pause comes as the latest WRAL/WSOC poll found Cooper leading Whatley by 14 points, 54% to 40%, among likely voters. The SurveyUSA poll was conducted October 7–11 and included 643 respondents who had already voted by mail or indicated they were likely to vote.

Whatley’s campaign says the pause is temporary and insists it has the resources to compete.

“It’s a temporary pause and we’ll be back on the air shortly with our closing message,” campaign spokesman DJ Griffin said, adding that the message may question Cooper’s health and ability to serve in the Senate. Griffin said the campaign was confident it would win in November.

Cooper’s spokeswoman Kate Smart called the claims “desperate lies” and pointed to the former governor’s more than 350 campaign events, saying he was in excellent health and would serve a full term.

The gap reflects a broader retreat by national Republican groups from North Carolina. The Senate Leadership Fund, a major GOP-aligned super PAC, paused its spending in the state earlier this month, while other Republican groups have also pulled back. The decision followed months of polling showing Cooper ahead of Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chairman endorsed by President Donald Trump.

Republicans had treated North Carolina as a key Senate battleground, but strategists have increasingly questioned whether Whatley can close the gap.

“It was always going to be a tough seat for Rs to hold,” said Doug Heye, a longtime Republican strategist from North Carolina, pointing to Trump’s low approval ratings and Cooper’s record of winning statewide elections.

Democrats are also recalibrating their spending. Senate Majority PAC, which supports Democrat Senate candidates, has begun pausing some of its North Carolina advertising as the party redirects resources toward other competitive contests. Even so, Cooper’s campaign and allied groups retain a significant advantage in future television reservations.

Cooper has led Whatley in surveys throughout the fall, and the expected narrowing of the race as Election Day approaches has not yet materialized. Multiple separate polls in September also showed Cooper with a double-digit lead.

Whatley has tied his campaign closely to Trump’s agenda, including the president’s tariffs and the war with Iran. Cooper has criticized both policies, arguing that they have raised costs for North Carolina families. The latest WRAL/WSOC poll found that just 37% of likely voters approved of Trump’s job performance, while 60% disapproved.

Trump is scheduled to return to North Carolina for a rally in Greenville on October 20 during the first week of in-person early voting. 

The North Carolina seat is open due to the retirement of Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, a frequent critic of Trump.

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