President Donald Trump campaigned in North Carolina on Sept. 16, appearing with GOP Senate candidate Michael Whatley in an effort to salvage a race that has slipped away from Republicans.
Trump staged his first post-convention rally in Gastonia, backing Whatley, his handpicked former Republican National Committee chair, against Democrat Roy Coo North Carolina's former governor. Whatley trails Cooper by 7.8 percentage points in the Real Clear Politics average—the second-worst position among Republicans in nine top battleground Senate races.
The race matters. Democrats need to flip four GOP-held seats to gain Senate control, and North Carolina represents a prime target. A Whatley loss would narrow Republican margins significantly.
Whatley's struggle reflects economic anxiety that has hurt Trump's standing in the state, according to Jason Husser, director of the Elon University Poll. "Perceptions of the economy are reflecting on President Trump, which in turn drags down Whatley's campaign," Husser said.
At the rally, Trump attacked Cooper over his administration's decision to release some prisoners during the COVID-19 pandemic, a move made in coordination with civil rights groups. Trump said Cooper "tries to pretend he's a moderate. He's not. He's a radical-left, weak person" and called Whatley "the candidate of law and order."
White House spokeswoman Liz Huston said the trip would "highlight how his administration is restoring law and order across the country."
Cooper's campaign struck back after the rally. A spokesman noted that Coo who also served as North Carolina attorney general, "spent his career putting rapists and violent criminals behind bars and signing tough on crime laws." The campaign said Whatley "is getting desperate."
The open seat emerged after Republican Sen. Thom Tillis declined to seek reelection following clashes with Trump. Democrats recruited Coo citing his record of winning statewide elections. Trump acknowledged that North Carolina now presents "a little more difficult case" for the GOP.
