Thom Tillis
RDefeatedIncumbentFEC S4NC00162
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Raised this cycle$4.7M
Cash on hand: $3.7M
All North Carolina races
2026 race
NC — U.S. Senate
10 active candidates on file with the FEC. Incumbent: Thom Tillis.
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Democratic primary · Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Called by manual backfill (AP/Wikipedia/state SOS)
Roy CooperWon92.0%
Republican primary · Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Called by manual backfill (AP/Wikipedia/state SOS)
Michael WhatleyWon64.6%
- RDon BrownDefeated15.6%
- RThomas Lee JohnsonDefeated5.7%
- RMichele MorrowDefeated5.6%
Currently held by
Thomas Tillis (R) — not seeking re-election in 2026. They've publicly announced their retirement; their committee is still on the FEC's 2026 roster for routine compliance, but this is effectively an open seat.
Election day
135days
Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Make sure you can vote
Disclosed money in race
$44M
Candidate + outside spending. See finance breakdown below.
Incumbent
Currently in office
Challengers
Sorted by fundraising
Roy Cooper
DChallengerFEC S6NC00407
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Raised this cycle$27M
Cash on hand: $18M
Michael Whatley
RChallengerFEC S6NC00415
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Raised this cycle$8.4M
Cash on hand: $2.5M
Brian McGinnis
IChallengerFEC S6NC00464
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Raised this cycle$64K
Cash on hand: $63K
6 defeated candidates — show
Wiley Nickel
DDefeatedChallengerFEC S6NC00340
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Raised this cycle$589K
Cash on hand: $0
Don Brown
RDefeatedChallengerFEC S6NC00373
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Raised this cycle$225K
Cash on hand: $0
Michele Morrow
RDefeatedChallengerFEC S6NC00522
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Raised this cycle$13K
Cash on hand: $678
Thomas Lee Johnson
RDefeatedChallengerFEC S6NC00480
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Raised this cycle$7K
Cash on hand: $0
Marcus Williams
DDefeatedChallengerFEC S8NC00270
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Raised this cycle$6K
Cash on hand: $0
Margot Dupre
RDefeatedChallengerFEC S6NC00449
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Raised this cycle—
Cash on hand: —
Local signal
Early read on NC — U.S. Senate
A directional read on where this seat is trending, from the signals we have so far. This is an early scaffold — more inputs light up as coverage and constituent activity accrue.
Coverage tone · the matchup
Recent news coverage of the nominees heading to the general election.
Roy Cooperleans negative
0 pos5 neutral2 neg7 articles
Michael Whatleymixed
0 pos3 neutral0 neg3 articles
A media signal, not a poll of the district.
Constituent stakes
No one here has staked a position on a tracked vote yet. As neighbors weigh in on /pressure campaigns, the district's lean will show up here.
Money in the race
Finance breakdown
Disclosed funding shaping this race — both the money candidates raise themselves and the outside spending dropped by independent groups. Issue-ad spending by 501(c)(4) groups is excluded; the FEC doesn't require disclosure of it. See the note below for details.
Total disclosed
$44M
Candidate fundraising + independent expenditures (FEC).
Candidate-direct (Schedule A)
$41M
Raised by candidate committees themselves.
Outside spending (Schedule E)
$3.6M
$3.0M for · $528K against
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Roy Cooper(D) + MODSQUAD ACTION $15K + FIELD TEAM 6, INC. $9K + DMFI PAC $2K − SLF PAC $448K − AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY ACTION, INC. (AFP ACTION) DBA CVA ACTION AND DBA LIBRE ACTION $64K − RED SENATE $9K | $27M | $28K | $522K | $26M |
Michael Whatley(R) + AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY ACTION, INC. (AFP ACTION) DBA CVA ACTION AND DBA LIBRE ACTION $2.3M + SLF PAC $618K + RED SENATE $212 | $8.4M | $3.0M | — | $11M |
Brian McGinnis(G) | $64K | — | — | $64K |
7 defeated candidates — show finances
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Thom Tillis(R)incumbentdefeated + SUPPORT AMERICA'S POLICE PAC $35K + WOMEN SPEAK OUT PAC $302 − ABLE DEMS PAC $3K − PLANNED PARENTHOOD VOTES $3K − ACTIVATE AMERICA $370 | $4.7M | $35K | $6K | $4.7M |
Wiley Nickel(D)defeated | $589K | — | — | $589K |
Don Brown(R)defeated | $225K | — | — | $225K |
Michele Morrow(R)defeated | $13K | — | — | $13K |
Thomas Lee Johnson(R)defeated | $7K | — | — | $7K |
Marcus Williams(D)defeated | $6K | — | — | $6K |
Margot Dupre(R)defeated | $0 | — | — | $0 |
Where the money comes from
In-state vs out-of-state
Share of each candidate's itemized individual contributions from donors inside NC versus the rest of the country. Excludes sub-$200 unitemized donations (no geography on file) and PAC money — see note below.
Roy Cooper(D)53% in-state · $22M itemized
$12M in-state$10M out-of-state
Michael Whatley(R)34% in-state · $7.2M itemized
$2.5M in-state$4.8M out-of-state
Brian McGinnis(G)14% in-state · $27K itemized
$4K in-state$23K out-of-state
5 defeated candidates — show
Thom Tillis(R)defeated33% in-state · $3.1M itemized
$1.0M in-state$2.1M out-of-state
Wiley Nickel(D)defeated44% in-state · $429K itemized
$189K in-state$240K out-of-state
Don Brown(R)defeated83% in-state · $143K itemized
$119K in-state$24K out-of-state
Michele Morrow(R)defeated78% in-state · $10K itemized
$8K in-state$2K out-of-state
Thomas Lee Johnson(R)defeated100% in-state · $303 itemized
$303 in-state$0 out-of-state
What's counted, what isn't
Candidate-direct is each campaign's reported receipts on FEC Schedule A — individual contributions plus PAC contributions to the candidate's own committee — through the most recent filing.
Outside spending is independent expenditures on FEC Schedule E: money spent by PACs, super PACs, and party committees for or against a candidate, without legal coordination with the campaign. The committees listed under each candidate are the largest disclosed spenders on either side.
In-state vs out-of-state covers only itemized individual contributions — donations over $200, which are the only ones that carry a contributor address at the FEC. Sub-$200 unitemized donations (often a large share for grassroots campaigns) have no geography on file and are excluded, as is PAC money. So the percentages describe where a candidate's itemized individual money comes from, not where every dollar raised comes from.
Not counted: 501(c)(4) "social welfare" organizations run issue ads that frequently mention candidates by name but aren't classified as express advocacy under FEC rules — they file no Schedule E and don't appear in this breakdown. Press reporting on a race may cite figures that include this dark-money spending; ours doesn't.
Where they stand
Issue-by-issue comparison
Positions extracted from each candidate's campaign issues page by AI. Contested rows — where candidates disagree with each other — appear first.
| Statement | Cooper | Whatley | Mcginnis | You |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Agriculture Federal funding to extend broadband access to rural areas should be expanded. | — | |||
Antitrust & Competition Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) should be subject to stricter federal antitrust scrutiny. | — | |||
Antitrust & Competition Federal merger review (FTC/DOJ) should require longer review periods for large transactions. | — | |||
Criminal Justice The federal government should send more money to local police departments. | — | |||
Economy Tariffs on foreign goods should be used to protect American jobs. | — | |||
Economy The expanded child tax credit (refundable, paid monthly) should be made permanent. | — | |||
Healthcare Medicare should be allowed to negotiate lower prescription drug prices. | — | |||
Healthcare Enhanced ACA premium subsidies should be made permanent at expanded levels. | — | |||
Housing The government should spend more building affordable housing. | — | |||
Immigration The U.S. should do more to enforce immigration laws and secure the border. | — | |||
Veterans The VA should cover more veterans and more health conditions. | — |
SupportsOpposesNo public positionRinged = confirmed by the campaign
Recent coverage
In the news
Roy Cooper
- State audit uncovers nearly $50 million in North Carolina unemployment fraudWashington ExaminerJun 17
- Senate map tightens as top forecaster moves 3 races toward DemocratsFox NewsJun 11
- Column: Does President Trump really not care about the midterms?The Virginian-PilotJun 8
- Cut Platner LooseThe AtlanticJun 6
Michael Whatley
About this race page
Candidate roster is sourced from the FEC's active-candidate list for the 2026 cycle. Fundraising totals reflect committee filings through the last reporting period.
Alignment % compares the candidate's extracted policy positions against your quiz answers. Positions are pulled from the candidate's campaign issues page by AI; we save the source quote for each position so you can verify the extraction. Candidates without a campaign issues page show position data pending — we're working through the roster and re-checking stale extractions every 90 days.
News coverage is from the GDELT 2.0 global news feed, filtered to a curated list of national, political, and regional outlets.