Poll: Roy Cooper Takes 11-Point Lead over Michael Whatley in North Carolina Senate Race
A new statewide poll puts Cooper ahead of Republican Michael Whatley in the 2026 Senate race.

SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYBreitbart is an opinion-oriented outlet, which lowers the institutional score. The article names polling sources and provides some methodology, but it also relies on its own earlier reporting and presents no response from Cooper to the criticism it reprises.
- Source type — Opinion-oriented publisher; lower institutional confidence than a general-interest newsroom.
- Transparency — The principal poll's sponsor, sample size, field dates and margin of error are stated.
- Source selection — The article cites other surveys and external findings, but leans partly on the publisher's own prior reporting.
- Author attribution — A named author is credited.
The polling figures include useful field dates, sample size and margin of error, and the article compares several surveys. The added criticism of Cooper is attributed, but is not accompanied by a response from him and is only loosely connected to the new poll.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The article gives polling details and cites surveys with different margins, but its concluding criticism of Cooper is not paired with his response or further context.
- Counterarguments presented — The criticism of Cooper is presented without a response from him.
- Source diversity — Several poll results are cited, with identifiable polling organizations.
- Omitted context — The recidivism and criminal-charge claims receive little context in this polling story.
- Framing — The final passages add one-sided criticism of Cooper to a report centered on polling.
The poll results are reported in largely straightforward language, but the article closes by emphasizing critical claims about Cooper and quoting Whatley’s attack without a response from Cooper.
- Source selection — The article adds allegations and a criticism from Whatley, without presenting Cooper's response.
- Language tone — The polling description is mostly matter-of-fact, while the closing material uses a critical frame toward Cooper.
- Framing — The article moves from the poll result to a negative account of Cooper's record as governor.
A Harper Polling survey for Carolina Journal found Roy Cooper leading Michael Whatley 50 percent to 39 percent among likely North Carolina voters in the 2026 Senate race. The article also cites prior polling and revisits criticism of Cooper’s record as governor.
The Harper Polling survey was conducted May 10-11 among 600 likely voters and reported a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points. The article says Cooper’s 11-point lead was his largest in the polling trend it cited, following leads of four points in September 2025 and eight points in March 2026. It also describes earlier surveys that showed Cooper ahead by different margins.
The article then recalls reporting about people released from prison under Cooper’s administration during the coronavirus pandemic. It attributes a 48 percent recidivism rate to North Carolina’s Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission, cites reporting that more than 600 later committed serious felonies and 18 were charged with murder, and quotes Whatley criticizing Cooper over the releases.
Community verdict
VOTING CLOSEDNo good or bad look here
This story reports what happened without casting Cooper in a good or bad light, so readers don’t rate it and it doesn’t count toward Cooper’s record.
People in this story
SWIPE →Republican candidate in the North Carolina Senate race
Whatley's version of this story ↗Libertarian candidate mentioned in an earlier poll
Part of a bigger story
2 OUTLETS- ARTICLES
- 2
- OUTLETS
- 2
- AVG CRED
- 59
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