The polls closed in North Carolina at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time (except for one precinct, which was open until 8:30 p.m. for reasons explained here), and the Republican and Democrat winners in the campaign to replace retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) have been announced.
On the Republican side, former NC and RNC chairman Michael Whatley has been projected as the winner by DDHQ, defeating a crowded field of challengers to advance to the general election.
Decision Desk HQ projects Michael Whatley to win the Republican Primary in the North Carolina US Senate race.#DecisionMade: 8:34 pm ET
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) March 4, 2026
Follow live results on Votes.https://t.co/7d5bXaIABy pic.twitter.com/U1briMrqjo
Tillis announced in late June that he would not seek a third term after President Trump suggested he should be primaried over his opposition to the "Big Beautiful Bill." Whatley informally entered the race in late July amid rumors that Trump's daughter-in-law, former RNC co-chair Lara Lea Trump, was considering throwing her hat into the ring.
SEE ALSO: NC 2026 Senate Race Begins to Take Shape, and Things Are About to Get Really Interesting
While the POTUS stated that "[She] would always be my first choice," he also pointed out that Lara Lea, who has a weekend show on Fox News, "doesn’t live there now." Soon after, Lara Lea Trump confirmed she wouldn't be running, and Whatley formally declared his intentions, with the full backing of the president.
Trump has endorsed RNC Chairman Michael Whatley for the Thom Tillis’ US Senate seat in North Carolina. pic.twitter.com/Im5P0e0hEt
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) July 25, 2025
On the Democrat side, former Gov. Roy Cooper, who was heavily recruited by the DSCC, entered the race in early August, shortly before the brutal stabbing murder of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on Charlotte's light rail system, allegedly by a violent repeat offender named DeCarlos Brown, Jr., in a case that sparked near-immediate changes in North Carolina law and which continues to make national headlines.
Cooper made easy work of his primary race, moving on to the general election, where he is expected to continue being hammered by Whatley and other critics on his soft-on-crime record, both as North Carolina's attorney general - a position he held for 16 years, and as a two-term governor, where he pushed for the exact type of policies that allowed alleged killers like Brown, Jr. to be out on the streets.
Decision Desk HQ projects Roy Cooper to win the Democratic Primary in the North Carolina US Senate race.#DecisionMade: 8:35 pm ET
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) March 4, 2026
Follow live results on Votes.https://t.co/0z7z8PCE2Q pic.twitter.com/DtsWhMEApZ
You can check out the full results here as they come in.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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