Overview
- A new Healthier United/Nexus Strategies survey reports Roy Cooper at 50% and Michael Whatley at 32%, with Libertarian Shannon Bray at 4% and 14% undecided.
- Other March polling from Carolina Journal on March 22–23 put the race at 49% to 41% for Cooper, and Public Policy Polling on March 13–14 measured it at 47% to 44%, showing a much tighter contest.
- In the Healthier United results, unaffiliated voters favored Cooper 49% to 26% with roughly one in five undecided, while Republicans backed Whatley 71% and Democrats backed Cooper 88%.
- The open seat is one of the few plausible Democratic pickups that could influence control of the U.S. Senate in 2026.
- The same survey found broad voter unease and weak views of President Trump, with 58% saying the country is on the wrong track and a 53% to 40% unfavorable split for him, while Democrats report higher interest in the race than Republicans.