Johnstonian News: “35% of Republican voters voted against Whatley even though he spent millions of dollars”

A week since the primary election, DC insider Michael Whatley’s weak performance is still in the spotlight. Even the conservative Daily Haymaker blasted Whatley for earning a lower vote share than Mark Robinson did in the 2024 GOP primary, saying “a lot more people showed up for Robinson in 2024.” 

Read more about what North Carolinians are seeing about Michael Whatley:

Johnstonian News: “But in the primary, Whatley’s performance was merely adequate…35% of Republican voters voted against Whatley even though he spent millions of dollars emphasizing his support from Donald Trump. Given that he got only the typical two thirds of the vote, it appears that the Trump endorsement was the only asset Whatley carried into this race.”

One third — more than one third — of Republican primary voters pulled the lever for one of Michael Whatley’s opponents. Their preference for alternative candidates came even though neither Don Brown nor Michele Morrow nor any of the lesser-known contenders ran TV ads. Whatley was the only candidate making use of the main medium for reaching GOP voters, and he still lost 35% of the vote to opponents whose media presence was limited to the internet and radio ads. This suggests strong resistance to Whatley from the party’s most MAGA voters.”

WFAE: “On the Republican side, only 626,000 people voted in the GOP primary this year, with favorite Michael Whatley getting 65%. That’s an 18% drop from the number of voters who cast ballots when Ted Budd won the Republican primary four years ago over Pat McCrory. ”

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