By David Morgan
Nov 3 (Reuters) - Democrat Roy Cooper won North Carolina’s US Senate race on Tuesday, according to media projections, defeating Trump-backed Republican Michael Whatley and giving Democrats a crucial pickup in their battle for Senate control.
Cooper, a well-known former two-term governor, defeated a hand-picked candidate of President Donald Trump after campaigning on the high cost of food and energy as Trump’s approval ratings fell.
Republicans held a 53-47 Senate majority going into Tuesday’s elections, with Democrats needing a net gain of four seats to take control.
Cooper, 69, will replace Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who announced his retirement after breaking with Trump over Medicaid cuts in the president’s signature tax and spending law.
With statewide name recognition, Cooper built a significant polling lead, drawing strong support from independent voters.
Whatley, a former Republican National Committee chair who has never held elective office, campaigned alongside Trump in North Carolina.
In 2024 Trump endorsed him to replace Ronna McDaniel as RNC chair. With Trump's daughter-in-law Lara Trump as co-chair, Whatley helped lead an RNC election integrity drive aimed at putting 100,000 Republican volunteers and attorneys in battleground states to monitor voting ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Howard Goller)