The cost of living is at a record high. More than ever, working families are struggling to afford groceries, gas, energy bills, housing, and health care. At the same time, we’re still working to get back on our feet here in Western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene.
Energy bills in particular have soared across North Carolina. And now, Duke Energy is requesting more rate hikes.
It’s no wonder that people are fed up with politics. Elected officials need to remember who got them elected. It’s not the lobbyists or monied special interests, it’s the people in our state who trusted them with this power. They need to put our needs first and work to make life easier for the people they serve. North Carolinians deserve leaders who will stand up to big corporations and special interests and put working families first.
But too often, we’re represented by DC politicians who are only focused on enriching themselves and special interests at the expense of hardworking families. That’s exactly what North Carolinians are getting with Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley.
Whatley has spent his career as a DC lobbyist for oil and gas companies, including Duke Energy. He lobbied for Duke as they raised rates on North Carolina families across the state. Since Whatley became a lobbyist in 2005, energy bills have increased by more than 50% on average in North Carolina. That’s a devastating increase for hardworking families trying to make ends meet every month.
Now, Whatley is a Duke shareholder, getting rich off the high rates he lobbied for. He has refused to denounce the upcoming rate hikes that will hurt working families and spike his stock value. His silence speaks volumes. He’d rather quietly profit than stand up for North Carolina families.
If Whatley were serious about serving North Carolina families, he would speak out against this rate hike and sell his Duke stock. He hasn’t. This tells you exactly how he would use a seat in the U.S. Senate, siding with his bank account over working families, every single time.
Roy Cooper is a different kind of leader. He doesn’t own any individual stocks and supports banning members of Congress from buying or selling them. Whatley, by contrast, has refused to sell his individual stocks, which are benefiting from policies he has supported.
North Carolina, the choice is clear. If you want lower energy bills, if you want stuff to cost less, know that Roy Cooper has spent his career as a public servant standing up for working families. Michael Whatley has spent his career as a DC lobbyist enriching himself at our expense. With rate hikes looming, we can’t afford to get this wrong.
Terry Van Duyn is a former member of the North Carolina State Senate.
