North Carolina voters delivered a historic victory for Democrat Roy Cooper on Tuesday, electing the former governor to the U.S. Senate and helping usher in one of the largest Democratic waves in the state’s history.
With unofficial results still being counted, Cooper defeated Republican Michael Whatley by nearly 825,000 votes, winning 58.7% of the vote to Whatley’s 39.1%. The nearly 20-point margin marks a decisive victory in a state that Donald Trump carried just two years earlier.
“Tonight, we told Washington loud and clear that North Carolinians will always matter more than the billionaires and the insiders,” Cooper said.
Cooper’s election marks the first time a Democrat has won a statewide federal race in North Carolina since 2008.
The results show a remarkable shift in North Carolina’s electorate. According to The New York Times’ analysis of voter trends, every demographic group shifted toward Democrats compared with the 2024 presidential election.
Some of the largest shifts came from groups that have been central to recent political debates. Hispanic voters shifted 33 points toward Democrats, voters ages 18 to 29 shifted 44 points, and voters without a college education shifted 24 points.
Cooper also made significant gains geographically. He won 21 counties that Trump carried in 2024 and improved his vote share in all but two counties compared with his own 2020 gubernatorial election.
The strength of Cooper’s victory extended far beyond the Senate race, as Democrats made historic gains up and down the ballot.
Democrats reclaimed a majority in the North Carolina House, flipping at least 17 Republican-held seats, with six additional races still close in the unofficial results. In the state Senate, Democrats broke the Republican supermajority and are within reach of a potential 25-25 split.
Democrats also made significant gains in North Carolina’s congressional races, with Democratic candidates leading in nine of the state’s 14 districts, despite a congressional map drawn to favor Republicans in 11. Several races remain too close to call, including the 5th District, where Democrat Chuck Hubbard is narrowly ahead, and the 3rd and 7th Districts, where Republicans hold slim leads. In the 14th District, Democrat Lakesha Womack is leading Republican incumbent and former state House Speaker Tim Moore, marking a potential upset in a district Moore helped draw.
Statewide judicial candidates shared in the success. Justice Anita Earls won reelection to the North Carolina Supreme Court. Court of Appeals Judges John Arrowood and Toby Hampson won re-election, and Christine Walczyk also secured a seat.
Cooper’s nearly 20-point Senate victory was the centerpiece of a broader electoral shift that reached across North Carolina’s counties, communities, and demographics. While final results remain subject to certification, the 2026 election has already reshaped the state’s political landscape.
