Trump Targets Battleground North Carolina To Spotlight His Economic Record

It’s not even 2026 yet, but President Donald Trump is already headed to the swing state of North Carolina on Friday in the next stop in his affordability tour, where he is expected to tout his economic record and work to boost Republicans ahead of next year’s midterms.

The Tar Heel State faces a critical Senate race next year that will likely feature former Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley and former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. North Carolina’s Senate race blew wide open when GOP Sen. Thom Tillis announced he would not seek re-election amid major disagreements with Trump.

“We are extremely excited to welcome President Trump back to North Carolina tomorrow,” Whatley told The Daily Wire on Thursday morning. “Under Joe Biden and Democrats like my opponent, Roy Cooper, inflation skyrocketed in our state and across the country. President Trump has been working tirelessly every single day to bring prices down, rein in out-of-control government spending, and undo the damage caused by Democrats’ reckless economic policies.”

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The Cook Political Report ranks the contest as a “toss-up” along with Senate races in Maine, Michigan, and Georgia.

In a recent interview with The Daily Wire, Whatley said that voters’ wallets will be one of the most significant issues in the midterms.

“We need the economy to be clicking. I think ultimately the economy is the most important factor when people vote, right? We need to create jobs, we need to raise wages, we need to lower costs,” he said earlier this month. “And the American people need to feel like we have a very strong economy. All signs right now are pointing towards us having a very strong, robust economy.”

Cooper’s campaign told The Daily Wire that he “has spent his career fighting for North Carolina families by lowering health care costs and keeping their communities safe,” while accusing Whatley of spending “decades at the beck and call of DC politicians delivering for billionaires and special interests at the expense of the middle class.”

As for the president, the first part of his tour was in Pennsylvania last week, and he also addressed the nation from the White House on Wednesday night with a focus on the economy. Most notably, he announced a $1,776 payout to qualifying American service members.