Former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper has defeated former Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley in the US Senate race, securing the Democrats their first Senate victory in the state in a decade.
Cooper will replace outgoing Republican Senator Thom Tillis, reports The Guardian.
His victory also marks the first Senate seat to switch to Democratic control in this year’s midterm elections.
Cooper’s campaign, branded “Make Stuff Cost Less”, centred on reducing the cost of food, energy and housing. He also highlighted his record on expanding Medicaid and increasing teachers’ pay during his tenure as governor.
Whatley and Republican campaigners failed to link Cooper to violent crime, particularly in Charlotte, while attempting to mobilise conservative concerns over transgender athletes and immigration.
Cooper has remained a prominent figure in North Carolina politics for decades, serving first as the state’s attorney general before completing two terms as governor.
The politically moderate Democrat has long been the state’s most popular political figure.
He raised nearly three times as much campaign funding as Whatley and maintained a lead in every opinion poll against his opponent, who was more closely associated with national politics than local issues in the Tar Heel State.
The Senate Leadership Fund, which channels fundraising money from Republican Senate leader John Thune into US Senate campaigns, had already written off Whatley’s prospects and shifted its financial support to the Kansas race.
The Democratic victory came amid growing national challenges for Republicans contesting congressional seats. North Carolina’s Republican-controlled legislature redrew the state’s congressional boundaries as part of President Donald Trump’s nationwide push for mid-decade redistricting.
Despite the changes, Republicans managed to flip a congressional seat in western North Carolina.
US Representative Chuck Edwards announced in August that he would not seek re-election after the House Ethics Committee recommended his censure following an investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct towards two female congressional staff members.
Meanwhile, Democrat Jamie Ager has won the US House election in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District, flipping a Republican-held seat.
Ager, who runs a business selling pasture-raised meat, comes from a family with deep farming roots in western North Carolina. His grandfather previously represented the district, reports Al Jazeera.
His victory marks the first time in decades that a Democrat has represented the district.
