North Carolina's Senate Race Is Tightening. Here Is What Whatley Still Has to Do
Roy Cooper's lead over Michael Whatley has shrunk from 15 points to 10 in one respected series as Republicans come home. JD Vance is in Kinston today to push the gap closer.
By Clara Hughes
Vice President JD Vance is in Kinston, North Carolina, today for his second visit to the state in less than two weeks. He is there for one reason: Michael Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chairman, is running for the open Senate seat left by retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, and he is still behind former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper with six days to go. The good news for Republicans is that "still behind" is no longer the whole story. The latest numbers show the race moving. The question is whether there is enough time left for it to move far enough. The trend line The Carolina Journal poll, conducted by Harper Polling, is the clearest series to watch. It surveyed 600 likely voters Oct. 18–20, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 points. Cooper leads Whatley 49% to 39%. Libertarian Shannon Bray takes 3%, the Green Party's Michael Dublin 2%, and 7% are undecided. That 10-point gap is Cooper's smallest lead in the series since early spring. In September he led