North Carolina Democratic Gov. Josh Stein predicted that Republican U.S. Senate nominee Michael Whatley’s close ties to President Donald Trump will hurt Whatley’s campaign this November.
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Whatley, who’s facing Democratic nominee former Gov. Roy Cooper in the general election, won his primary by touting his close relationship with the sitting president and professing his loyalty to the MAGA movement.
“Essentially Whatley’s only justification is, ‘I’ll do whatever the president tells me to do,’ and I don’t think that’s what North Carolinians want. I think they want an independent voice,” Stein said in an interview with Punchbowl News on Thursday.
Stein pointed to Trump’s favorability ratings in the state, which have fallen substantially after the decision to invade Iran and as gas prices have risen significantly. A Catawba College-YouGov survey last month found 42% approval of Trump’s job performance among North Carolina voters against 55% disapproval, for a margin of -13 percentage points.
“These gas prices, this war of choice without a strategic plan or an exit strategy — people feel it,” Stein said.
North Carolina Republican Party spokesman Matt Mercer said voters in the state voted “decisively” for Trump in three straight presidential elections because his “vision to Make America Great Again” resonated with North Carolinians.
“Gov. Stein appears to be suggesting a long career in elective office is preferable to someone who has been successful in business and lived the American dream,” Mercer said. “If that’s the choice before voters, they will side with the successful outsider over the career politician.”
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Whatley’s own standing in the polls has mirrored the president’s poor approval. That same April Catawba poll showed Whatley garnering just 34% of the vote against Cooper’s 48% among likely voters, losing by a margin of 14 percentage points.
But even if he wanted to, distancing himself from Trump would not be an easy task for Whatley. He rose to prominence after running Trump’s first North Carolina campaign, was tapped to co-chair the RNC alongside the president’s daughter-in-law, and won the primary on the strength of his endorsement.
And breaking with the president can still be a political death sentence in the modern GOP, as several Republican state senators in Indiana learned earlier this week after losing to Trump-endorsed challengers. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) himself decided to drop his 2026 reelection bid after defying Trump on healthcare cuts made Tillis’ political position untenable.
Stein said Cooper is the type of voice North Carolinians want in Washington, noting that he maintains double-digit favorability even with near-universal name recognition. By contrast, Stein said, “No one knows Whatley — he’s a D.C. insider,” calling his 16 months leading the RNC “the ultimate political hack job.”
Asked if he would consider a U.S. Senate run himself one day, following in Cooper’s footsteps, Stein said he is focused on helping flip the current Senate seat this fall. After that, he said, his attention will turn to 2028, when he will be up for a second term.
“I am running— well, I’m not announcing yet, but in 2028, I get to run for a second term,” Stein said. “I love North Carolina, let me put it that way.”
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