NC Newsline: “Whatley’s retreat from the media started around the same time as the revelation that the former NCGOP chair had appointed convicted sex offender Harvey West […] He has refused to discuss the issue with reporters.”

As DC insider Michael Whatley gaffes and blunders his way through the campaign, he is under increasing scrutiny for “lash[ing] out” at local reporters and “retreating to friendly […] outlets where he can avoid potentially embarrassing slips” – even calling the police on a reporter for trying to cover a campaign event last week. 

This follows a pattern of Whatley dodging reporter questions about his record, from elevating child sex predators to refusing to give a stance on Duke’s proposed rate hikes. 

Plus d'informations :

NC Newsline: ‘Garbage and lies’: Senate candidate Michael Whatley lashes out at media as campaign flounders

Brandon Kingdollar | July 13, 2026 

• In the months since, as polls have grown worse and unflattering stories have emerged about his tenure leading the state Republican Party, Whatley has increasingly withdrawn from nonpartisan media, cutting reporters out of event invitation lists and retreating to friendly, right-leaning podcasts and outlets where he can avoid potentially embarrassing slips.
• When reporters tried to attend a campaign event in Raleigh Thursday where Whatley was accepting the endorsement of the Police Benevolent Association, several were denied entry. Event organizers called the police on The Assembly reporter Bryan Anderson, he wrote in a social media post.
• Two weeks after the April 8 roundtable, NC Newsline published a story on Whatley’s pattern of failure to appear in court for traffic violations, which at one point led to an order for his arrest. Since that story posted, NC Newsline has not received notice of a Whatley campaign event.
• The Assembly reported it’s also being cut out by the campaign’s press office after an interaction with Whatley in June. […] When asked by Assembly reporter Anderson to name his favorite player, the Republican from Michigan did not name a single player for the Carolina Hurricanes.
• Whatley’s retreat from the media started around the same time as the revelation that the former NCGOP chair had appointed convicted sex offender Harvey West to a committee tasked with writing the state party’s planning document, and that Whatley had supported judicial fundraisers hosted at West’s home for years. He has refused to discuss the issue with reporters.
• Whatley’s events have followed a similar trajectory. They’ve generally been limited to allies, supporters, and donors, and are not widely announced to the public — a stark contrast with Cooper, who has held dozens of well-publicized “Make Stuff Cost Less” rallies crisscrossing the state in the last few months.

Politico Playbook: Mediawatch

Irie Sentner, Eli Okun, Ali Bianco | July 11, 2026

• In another example of press restrictions, GOP North Carolina Senate candidate Michael Whatley has barred some outlets from covering his events — going so far as to call the police yesterday, per The Assembly’s Bryan Anderson. 

The Assembly: ‘Garbage and Lies’

Bryan Anderson | July 14, 2026

• We noted last week that NC Newsline wasn’t admitted to a Whatley campaign event in Raleigh on Thursday. In an article on Monday, the outlet said it attempted to RSVP to the event but was denied entry because of a deadline in an advisory that was not provided to the outlet.
• The news website also said it hasn’t received notice of any Whatley campaign events since publishing a story on April 25 about Whatley facing arrest in 2015 for avoiding court for traffic offenses.

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