2026年3月3日 / 美国东部时间晚上8:47 / CBS新闻
华盛顿—— 前州长罗伊·库珀（Roy Cooper）和前共和党全国委员会主席迈克尔·惠特利（Michael Whatley）将在11月展开对决，这场竞选预计将成为本周期最具竞争力的参议院竞选之一。
CBS新闻预测，惠特利和库珀分别在周二晚间的初选中胜出。这一结果早已在预料之中，两人实际上已数月来一直相互角逐。但随着周二初选的胜利，真正的较量正式拉开帷幕。
在共和党参议员汤姆·蒂利斯（Thom Tillis）于6月宣布不寻求连任——就在总统特朗普威胁要支持对其发起初选挑战数小时之后——库珀和惠特利将争夺北卡罗来纳州参议院的一个空缺席位。当时，这位曾偶尔与党内意见相左、跨党派合作的两任参议员哀叹，愿意拥抱两党合作的立法者正成为“濒危物种”。
即便在蒂利斯宣布退选之前，北卡罗来纳州在2026年就被视为竞争激烈的州。而随着现任议员不参选，这个“焦油脚跟之州”的空缺席位成为民主党希望在参议院中扩大优势的关键目标——也是他们本周期最有希望拿下的席位之一。
作为两任北卡罗来纳州州长和该州历史上任期最长的州检察长，库珀是民主党理想的候选人。自2008年以来，北卡罗来纳州尚未选出过民主党参议员，除了当年支持前总统巴拉克·奥巴马外，该州在总统选举中历来倾向共和党。但民主党希望库珀的选举记录——包括他在2016年和2020年的州长竞选胜利，以及该州对特朗普先生的支持——能带来不同结果。
至于惠特利，他从未竞选过公职。他曾在小布什政府任职，担任前北卡罗来纳州参议员伊丽莎白·多尔（Elizabeth Dole）的幕僚长，之后担任该州共和党主席，并在特朗普先生的连任竞选中作为共和党全国委员会主席发挥了关键作用。特朗普先生在7月公开敦促惠特利参选参议院，称“我需要他去华盛顿”。
惠特利在移民和犯罪等问题上抨击库珀，包括发布广告，将乌克兰难民伊琳娜·扎鲁茨卡（Iryna Zarutska）的死亡归咎于这位民主党候选人担任州长期间的政策。23岁的扎鲁茨卡于去年8月在夏洛特遭遇致命刺伤袭击身亡。
与此同时，库珀将惠特利描绘成一个与北卡罗来纳州普通民众脱节的“华盛顿内部人士”，尤其是在医疗保健和生活成本等问题上。民主党人已将这些议题作为中期选举的核心。
这场竞选预计将成为本周期最烧钱的竞选之一，两位人脉广泛、筹款能力强的候选人将展开较量。而参议院控制权的广泛影响意味着这场竞选将受到大量关注。
共和党在参议院仅以微弱优势（53席）占据多数。民主党希望重新掌控上议院，但2026年的选情对该党而言，翻牌机会寥寥。为确保多数席位，民主党需要捍卫几个竞争州的席位，同时必须拿下四个席位——北卡罗来纳州是重中之重。
Whatley, Cooper win North Carolina primaries, CBS News projects, teeing up key Senate contest
March 3, 2026 / 8:47 PM EST / CBS News
Washington — Former Gov. Roy Cooper and former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley are set to face off in November in what’s expected to be among the most competitive Senate races of the cycle.
Whatley and Cooper won their respective primaries Tuesday night, CBS News projects. The outcome was widely expected, and the two men have effectively been campaigning against one another for months. But with Tuesday’s primary victories, the real contest gets underway.
Cooper and Whatley are facing off for an open seat representing North Carolina in the Senate after GOP Sen. Thom Tillis announced in June that he wouldn’t seek reelection hours after President Trump threatened to back a primary challenge against him. At the time, the two-term senator, who’s occasionally broken with his party to cross the aisle, lamented that lawmakers willing to embrace bipartisanship are becoming “an endangered species.”
North Carolina was expected to be competitive in 2026 even before Tillis’ announcement, and without the incumbent in the race, the open seat in the Tar Heel State emerged as a key prize as Democrats look to make gains in the Senate — and their best chance at flipping a seat this cycle.
As a two-term governor and the longest-serving state attorney general in North Carolina’s history, Cooper is among the Democratic party’s dream candidates. North Carolina hasn’t elected a Democratic senator since 2008, and besides backing former President Barack Obama that same year, the state has historically voted for Republicans at the presidential level. But Democrats are hoping Cooper’s electoral record — including his gubernatorial victories in 2016 and 2020 alongside the state’s backing of Mr. Trump — will lead to a different outcome.
Then there’s Whatley, who has never run for office. Whatley worked in former President George W. Bush’s administration and as chief of staff for former North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole before serving as chairman of the state Republican Party and going on to play a key role in Mr. Trump’s reelection effort as chairman of the RNC. Mr. Trump publicly urged Whatley to enter the Senate race in July, saying “I need him in Washington.”
Whatley has gone after Cooper on issues like immigration and crime, including with ads putting the blame on the Democratic candidate’s policies as governor for the death of Iryna Zarutska — a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who was the victim of a deadly stabbing attack in Charlotte in August.
Meanwhile, Cooper has painted Whatley as a Washington insider disconnected from regular North Carolinians on issues like health care and affordability, which Democrats have put front and center heading into the midterm elections.
The race is expected to be among the most expensive of the cycle, with two well-connected candidates with fundraising chops. And the broader implications for control of the Senate mean the race will receive ample attention.
Republicans have a narrow majority in the Senate, with 53 seats. Democrats are hoping to regain control of the upper chamber, but the 2026 map offers few opportunities for the party to flip seats. To secure a majority, Democrats would need to defend seats in a handful of competitive states, while flipping four seats — with North Carolina at the top of the list.
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