Johnstonian News: Opinion: “Whatley has spent his entire career in Washington, on K Street, or inside the Raleigh Beltline. Whatley is an elite political operative with few ties to the daily rhythms of life in our state.”

Michael Whatley’s career as a DC political hack and Big Oil lobbyist is on full display in a new column in the Johnstonian News. Whatley is a DC insider who will never put North Carolina before billionaires and special interests.

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Johnstonian News: Opinion: Michael Whatley’s pseudo-populist campaign

Alexander Jones | October 28, 2025

• Michael Whatley’s Senate campaign has gotten off to a clumsy start. The former RNC chair, a 25-year veteran of Republican attack politics, has struggled to find a line of attack against his Democratic opponent. For a Trumper, Whatley’s aggression has been rather limp. He’s presenting himself as a fearless populist warrior against a man who grew up picking tobacco.
• At a recent fundraiser in Wilson, Whatley slurped down cooked oysters and railed against Cooper. He argued, with a straight face, that Cooper “represents New York, Chicago, San Francisco values.” I had to stifle my guffaw. Can you imagine Roy Cooper sipping Chablis with fancy New York City liberals, exchanging snide jokes about the hicks in North Carolina? The thought is ludicrous.
• In fact, of Cooper and Whatley, Whatley has the more elitist resume. His LinkedIn page still lists his location of employment as the “Washington, District of Columbia area.” 
• Whatley has spent his entire career in Washington, on K Street, or inside the Raleigh Beltline. Whatley is an elite political operative with few ties to the daily rhythms of life in our state.
• The remarkable thing is that, in other forums, Whatley has touted his insider status.
• Thus, Whatley’s populist affectations are unrooted in his biography or his career. He would like voters to believe that he’s the down-home boy, the humble North Carolinian out to stick it to elite Washington. He would like Roy Cooper to be his foil…most voters have keen antennae for a political ruse. It seems unlikely to me that Whatley will be able to convince most voters he represents “North Carolina values” and that Roy Cooper is a San Francisco snob.
• What Whatley really is is a savvy insider operative who lacks the charisma or judgment to sell his own campaign to the voters. 

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