Roy Cooper campaigns in Graham as Senate race heats up

Roy Cooper took his Senate campaign to the Graham Civic Center on July 13. With the general election set for Nov. 3, 2026, and ballots expected to start going out by mail as soon as September, the fight for North Carolina’s open Senate seat is moving quickly into local venues, local volunteer lists and local voter contact.

In Graham, Cooper centered his message on household costs. His campaign said the stop was part of his “Make Stuff Cost Less” tour. North Carolina families in Alamance County and across the state are paying more and getting less on gas, groceries and utility bills. Cooper also focused on grocery prices, childcare costs and tariffs, casting affordability as the core issue of his bid. “North Carolina families need people in Washington focused on them, not the big corporate interests, not the billionaires,” his campaign said in a release tied to the event.

The stop came as Republican Michael Whatley sharpened a different message. On July 9 in Raleigh, Whatley formally accepted the unanimous endorsement of the North Carolina Police Benevolent Association, which describes itself as the state’s largest law-enforcement advocacy organization and says it has 17,700 members. Whatley focused on public safety, and local law enforcement also appeared at the Raleigh event. Cooper said he has spent his career standing up for law enforcement.

Cooper said on July 14 that his campaign raised more than $14.8 million in the second quarter of 2026. His campaign said 95% of those donations were $100 or less and nearly one-third came from first-time individual donors. It also said he raised $14.5 million in the third quarter of 2025, which it called a record for a U.S. Senate challenger.

Whatley’s fundraising is far smaller by comparison. The Federal Election Commission’s candidate profile shows total receipts of $8,410,251.85 for the period from June 30, 2025 through June 30, 2026.