Voter Choice

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U.S. Senate: who gets your vote?

What this role does

U.S. senators work with the House on U.S. laws and spending. They also vote on the president's picks for federal judges.

These votes help set U.S. taxes, pay for public services and choose who serves in federal courts.

  • National laws
  • Federal spending
  • Federal judge nominations

Read about them. Then tap a button to pick one. You can change it later.

Data last updated: Oct 16, 2026 (federal ballot roster). Verify approaching elections with your state election office.

Our reading of the duties, not an official requirement. Doesn't rank or recommend anyone.

Office role sources

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Candidate
Michael Whatley

Michael Whatley

Running for U.S. Senate · North Carolina

NationalRepublican

Candidate
Roy Cooper

Roy Cooper

Running for U.S. Senate · North Carolina

NationalDemocrat

Michael WhatleyCandidateRoy CooperChallenger

Job fit

Michael Whatley

Other work

  • a federal law clerk in Charlotte and later served as Senator Elizabeth Dole’s Chief of Staff. 1

Roy Cooper

Education

  • earning undergraduate and law degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 2

Top issues

Ranked by what Americans say matters most (Pew, 2026)

Michael Whatley

  • Health care costsBoth address this
    "We need to get the government out of the way and get back to market-driven solutions on health care," Whatley said in a radio interview. 3
  • GunsBoth address this
    "I will fight to defend the 2nd Amendment, protect life, support our law enforcement, and keep radical woke ideology out of schools," Whatley's platform states. 4
  • Crime & safetyBoth address this
    "My first act as a senator is going to put in a federal version of Iryna's Law," limiting pretrial release for violent offenders, Whatley said. 5
More on their website →

Roy Cooper

  • Health care costsBoth address this
    Pledges to reinstate ACA tax credits, reverse Medicaid cuts, and let doctors—not insurance bureaucrats—decide what care is covered. 6
  • GunsBoth address this
    As governor he created NC's Office of Violence Prevention, launched a secure-storage initiative, strengthened background checks, and pledges to ban assault weapons and stop ghost guns in the Senate. 7
  • Crime & safetyBoth address this
    "As governor, I signed legislation that made it tougher on gang leaders and tougher on pretrial release, working to keep our communities safe," Cooper said. 8

No public stance found on: Cost of living & jobs

More on their website →

How they voted on top issues

We haven't found votes on top issues for either candidate yet.

Who pays them

Michael Whatley

Where the campaign money came from9

small donorslarge donorsother politicianscompaniespolitical allies (same party)Other kinds of donors
small donors$1.8Mlarge donors$3.7Motherpoliticians$489Kcompanies$131Kpolitical allies(same party)$99KOther kinds ofdonors$147K$6.4M raised
$1,775,4379Small individual donors
$3,690,0449Large individual donors

Roy Cooper

Where the campaign money came from9

small donorslarge donorsother politicianspolitical allies (same party)labor unionsOther kinds of donors
small donors$4.7Mlarge donors$8.4Motherpoliticians$397Kpolitical allies(same party)$149Klabor unions$128KOther kinds ofdonors$133K$13.9M raised
$4,748,6209Small individual donors
$8,366,7789Large individual donors

Checks

Michael Whatley

No voting record to check yet

Roy Cooper

No voting record to check yet

Based on current data. May change in a future update.

Sources

  1. About – Michael Whatley for Senate · checked 2026-10-19 used in: Experience
  2. Meet Roy | Roy Cooper for North Carolina · checked 2026-10-19 used in: Experience
  3. americanjournalnews.com used in: Top issues
  4. michaelwhatley.com used in: Top issues
  5. ncnewsline.com used in: Top issues
  6. roycooper.com used in: Top issues
  7. giffords.org used in: Top issues
  8. wral.com used in: Top issues
  9. FEC · 2026 cycle used in: Money
Show 2 more running

0/2 selected

View comparison ↑

Pick any two candidates below. Your second selection updates the comparison automatically. “Shown above” marks the current cards, not a selection. Comparison selections do not change your pick.

Michael Dublin
Candidate A

Michael Dublin

Green

We don't have campaign money records for this race yet.

Sources

1 Background: Meet Michael | Michael Dublin for U.S. Senate · checked 2026-10-19

0/2 selected
Michael Whatley
Candidate B

Michael Whatley

RepublicanShown above

🚩 No federal record yet. Campaign money: $6.4M raised, 58% from large donors, 14% from organized interests. Group coverage unverified: filing cutoffs and receipt scope have not been reconciled. Named amounts are not a complete split of the filed PAC total.
Filed PAC total: $874,330.00 (14% of $6,401,811.76 raised), 2026 cycle.
Named group amounts (not a complete filed split): $865,021.00, Group filing cutoff unavailable. Group source

Says they are for: leaving health care to the market, lower taxes and fewer rules on business, protecting the right to own and carry guns.

Sources

1 Background: About – Michael Whatley for Senate · checked 2026-10-19

2 The money: FEC · 2026 cycle

3 leaving health care to the market: Candidate statement

4 lower taxes and fewer rules on business: Candidate statement

5 protecting the right to own and carry guns: Candidate statement

0/2 selected
Roy Cooper
Candidate C

Roy Cooper

DemocratShown above

🚩 No federal record yet. Campaign money: $13.9M raised, 60% from large donors, 5% from organized interests. Group amounts exceed the filed PAC total. These sources do not reconcile; no complete split or remainder is claimed.
Filed PAC total: $750,034.38 (5% of $13,935,960.63 raised), 2026 cycle.
Named group amounts (not a complete filed split): $807,217.00, Group filing cutoff unavailable. Group source

Says they are for: government paying more of the bill, tougher sentences and more police, cutting pollution and moving to clean energy.

Sources

1 Background: Meet Roy | Roy Cooper for North Carolina · checked 2026-10-19

2 The money: FEC · 2026 cycle

3 government paying more of the bill: Candidate statement

4 tougher sentences and more police: Candidate statement

5 cutting pollution and moving to clean energy: Candidate statement

0/2 selected
Shannon W. Bray
Candidate D

Shannon W. Bray

Libertarian

We don't have campaign money records for this race yet.

Sources

1 Background: About - Shannon Bray · checked 2026-10-19

0/2 selected