Public Safety and the 2026 Midterms
With the 2026 midterm elections entering their final phase, the U.S. Senate race in North Carolina between Republican candidate Michael Whatley and former Governor Roy Cooper has centered on sharply contrasting records regarding public safety. The debate has intensified following the August 22, 2025, murder of Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte, an event Whatley has explicitly linked to criminal justice policies enacted during Cooper’s governorship.
Whatley has criticized a 2021 settlement negotiated by the Cooper administration with civil rights groups, which resulted in the release of approximately 3,500 prisoners during the pandemic. Citing reporting from the New York Post, Whatley’s campaign argues that this policy created a “revolving door” for repeat offenders. Addressing the killing of Zarutska, Whatley stated, “The reason that Decarlos Brown Jr. was back on the streets… was because of Roy Cooper’s soft on crime policies.”
This report draws on information published by washingtonreporter.news and factcheck.org.
Economic Messaging Under Scrutiny
Parallel to the focus on crime, the Cooper campaign has launched a series of advertisements challenging Whatley’s past characterizations of the economy. The ads highlight statements made by Whatley in 2025, during his tenure as chair of the Republican National Committee, where he claimed that inflation, gasoline, and grocery prices were declining.
Recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Energy Information Administration indicates that those claims face significant challenges when measured against current metrics. While inflation rates saw a temporary dip in mid-2025, gasoline prices have since surged, particularly following the onset of the war with Iran in early 2026. Data shows that gasoline prices reached $4.07 per gallon by late August 2026, significantly higher than the price levels seen at the start of the current administration. The Cooper campaign contends that these discrepancies demonstrate a disconnect between Whatley’s rhetoric and the financial realities faced by North Carolina families.
In response, the Whatley campaign maintains that the candidate supports policies aimed at increasing household earnings and economic stability. Spokesman DJ Griffin stated that Whatley’s platform remains focused on allowing “working families to earn more and keep more,” rejecting the Cooper campaign’s framing of the economic situation.