“It’s hard to excite conservative voters with a candidate who has been meaner toward his own party’s voters than he has to Democrats.”

The conservative Daily Haymaker is highlighting DC insider Michael Whatley’s vulnerability with his own Republican base, calling him the “GOP establishment champion” and saying it’s “hard to excite conservative voters” with his candidacy.

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Daily Haymaker: NC’s 2026 US Senate race declared ‘toss up’

November 23, 2025

• Every piece of polling out there has Cooper convincingly defeating GOP establishment champion Michael Whatley. (One recent poll has MAGA standard-bearer Don Brown faring about the same as Whatley against Cooper.)
• The Republican National Committee is working overtime to shove Michael Whatley down our throats. It’s hard to excite conservative voters with a candidate who has been meaner toward his own party’s voters than he has to Democrats. 
• Roy Cooper has been undefeated in elections – statewide and legislative – for the past 40 years. Is Mike Whatley really the best the GOP establishment has to put forth on the battlefield? Honestly, it looks like a surrender or concession before the fighting even begins. 

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