In brief
On election night, North Carolina voters chose former Governor Roy Cooper over Republican Michael Whatley, flipping the state’s Senate seat to the Democrats for the first time since 2008. Cooper’s victory follows a competitive race in a swing state and signals a potential shift in the national Senate balance.
North Carolina’s voters went to the polls on Tuesday, November 3, and the results came in that the former Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, has won the state’s U.S. Senate seat, a position that had been held by Republicans for two decades. The race, which had been competitive between Cooper and Republican challenger Michael Whatley, ended with Cooper becoming the first Democrat elected to the seat since 2008.
Former Senator Thom Tillis, who left the seat open opted not to seek a third term, and his absence met with a crowded field. Cooper, who served two terms as governor, has long been a moderate on many issues and had been endorsed by a broad coalition of voters in the state.
The result was projected by U.S. media on Tuesday night and announced by Xinhua, which noted that the win would be a “significant pickup for the party as it looks to take back control of the chamber.” Al Jazeera reported the win as a “significant pickup for the party” and highlighted the fact that the state had narrowly voted for Donald Trump in three presidential elections since 2016.
After taking the oath in the state capital, Cooper delivered a victory speech in which he vowed to “combat chaos and corruption in Washington.” He said, “Chaos and corruption in Washington were hurting our people. Today, you said, ‘This has to stop.’ And, as your new United States senator, I am ready to take that message to Washington.” He added, “We have to work to make healthcare, housing, and groceries more affordable, to end this war and stop the pain at the pump.”
Cooper’s win comes after a long period of Republican control in the two North Carolina Senate seats. He is the first Democrat to win a Senate race there since Barack Obama carried the state in the 2008 presidential election. The victory is expected to shift the balance in the U.S. Senate as Democrats are poised to gain a majority for the first time since 2015.