Thomas Tillis
RDefeatedIncumbentFEC S4NC00162
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Raised this cycle$4.7M
Cash on hand: $3.6M
2026 race
NC — U.S. Senate
4 candidates on the November ballot. Incumbent: Thomas Tillis.
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How we got here · 2 earlier contests
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 held
Counting
Tuesday, November 3, 2026
Results appear here once a race is called and verified. Official returns from the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
Make sure you can vote
Disclosed money in race
$86M
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$50M
Cash on hand: $9.1M
Michael Whatley
RChallengerFEC S6NC00415
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Raised this cycle$14M
Cash on hand: $902K
Michael Dublin
IChallengerFEC S6NC00563
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Raised this cycle$28K
Cash on hand: $3K
Shannon W. Bray
IChallengerFEC S0NC00335
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Raised this cycle$0
Cash on hand: $0
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: −$187
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
3 pos88 neutral16 neg107 articles
Michael Whatleyleans negative
2 pos73 neutral22 neg97 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.
Candidate fundraising: FEC reports through October 14, 2026 · 2025–26 cycle
Total disclosed
$86M
Candidate fundraising + independent expenditures (FEC).
Candidate-direct (Schedule A)
$69M
Raised by candidate committees themselves.
Outside spending (Schedule E)
$17M
$5.6M for · $11M against
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Roy Cooper(D) + WORKERS VOTE $166K + PROGRESSIVE TURNOUT PROJECT $157K + CAROLINA FEDERATION $60K − AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY ACTION, INC. (AFP ACTION) DBA CVA ACTION AND DBA LIBRE ACTION $1.8M − SLF PAC $560K − CATHOLICVOTE.ORG $18K | $50M | $532K | $2.4M | $48M |
Michael Whatley(R) + AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY ACTION, INC. (AFP ACTION) DBA CVA ACTION AND DBA LIBRE ACTION $4.4M + SLF PAC $658K + RED SENATE $2K − WINSENATE $8.8M − PROGRESS NORTH CAROLINA ACTION $143K − SIERRA CLUB POLITICAL COMMITTEE $22 | $14M | $5.0M | $8.9M | $9.8M |
Michael Dublin(G) | $28K | — | — | $28K |
Shannon W. Bray(L) | $0 | — | — | $0 |
7 defeated candidates — show finances
| Candidate | Raised directly | Outside for | Outside against | Net in corner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Thomas Tillis(R)incumbentdefeated − ABLE DEMS PAC $3K − ACTIVATE AMERICA $370 − INDIVISIBLE PROJECT INC. $283 | $4.7M | — | $4K | $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)52% in-state · $30M itemized
$15M in-state$14M out-of-state
Michael Whatley(R)35% in-state · $9.4M itemized
$3.3M in-state$6.2M out-of-state
Michael Dublin(G)0% in-state · $242 itemized
$0 in-state$242 out-of-state
6 defeated candidates — show
Thomas 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)defeated79% in-state · $11K itemized
$8K in-state$2K out-of-state
Thomas Lee Johnson(R)defeated100% in-state · $303 itemized
$303 in-state$0 out-of-state
Marcus Williams(D)defeated100% in-state · $2K itemized
$2K 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 | Dublin | Bray | You |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Criminal Justice The federal government should send more money to local police departments. | — | ||||
Immigration The U.S. should do more to enforce immigration laws and secure the border. | — | ||||
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. | — | ||||
Economy Reducing the national debt should be a higher priority than new spending. | — | ||||
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 States, not the federal government, should decide who gets Medicaid and what it covers. | — | ||||
Housing The government should spend more building affordable housing. | — | ||||
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
- https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/11/04/midterm-election-takeaways/Chicago TribuneNov 4
- The Great Democratic Catharsis Is Upon UsSlateNov 4
- Democrats win the US House and Senate as voters deliver a strong rebuke to Donald Trump and RepublicansChicago TribuneNov 4
- Democrats retake Senate in sweeping midterm rebukeAlbuquerque JournalNov 4
Michael Whatley
- https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/11/04/midterm-election-takeaways/Chicago TribuneNov 4
- Takeaways: Voters punish Trump, and the GOP suffers historic losses - NewsdayNewsdayNov 4
- https://www.baltimoresun.com/2026/11/03/the-latest-voters-will-decide-control-of-congress-in-major-test-of-trumps-second-term/The Baltimore SunNov 4
- https://www.denverpost.com/2026/11/03/the-latest-voters-will-decide-control-of-congress-in-major-test-of-trumps-second-term/The Denver PostNov 4
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.