Roy Cooper Flips NC Senate

What happened

Updated 9:55pm ET

Democrat Roy Cooper defeated Republican Michael Whatley in North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race, flipping a Republican-held seat.
Cooper, a former two-term governor, will replace retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis and is the state’s first Democrat elected to the Senate since 2008.
Whatley, a former Republican National Committee chairman running for elected office for the first time, had President Donald Trump’s backing.
Cooper campaigned on lowering everyday costs and led in polls, while Republican groups shifted campaign money to other states before Election Day.
The victory moves Democrats closer to Senate control, but they need a net gain of four seats, and other key races remain unresolved.

How the left told it

Left-leaning outlets emphasized a crucial Democratic pickup against Trump’s chosen candidate. The New York Times called it an “essential victory” in the fight for Senate control, while MS NOW highlighted the end of Democrats’ statewide Senate losing streak; HuffPost stressed Trump’s role in opening the seat and recruiting Whatley.

How the right told it

Right-leaning outlets largely framed Cooper’s win as a major Democratic pickup despite Trump’s backing of Whatley. Fox News said it boosted Democrats’ majority hopes, and the New York Post highlighted affordability and Republican headwinds. Breitbart took a sharper partisan line, calling Cooper “soft-on-crime.”