As Expected: Democrats Flip North Carolina Senate Seat as Cooper Beats Trump Pick Whatley

Democrats picked up their first Republican-held Senate seat of the night Tuesday as former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper defeated Republican Michael Whatley, President Donald Trump’s handpicked candidate.

The Associated Press declared Cooper the winner, handing him his seventh statewide victory in a state Trump carried in each of the last three presidential elections.

Cooper, 69, will succeed retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis. He becomes North Carolina’s first Democratic senator-elect since 2008 and just the fourth in the last 50 years, according to AP.

“I’m not going to Washington to be something; I’m going to Washington to do something,” Cooper told supporters in Raleigh, promising to focus on the cost of gas and groceries.

Whatley, a former chairman of both the state party and the Republican National Committee, tied himself closely to Trump throughout the race and never found his footing, AP reported.

The Washington Examiner described the result as the first of the four Senate flips Democrats need, noting the seat had been one of the party’s top targets all year.

Georgia and New Hampshire Stay Blue

In Georgia, AP declared Sen. Jon Ossoff the winner over Republican Rep. Mike Collins, whom Trump had endorsed. Ossoff was the only Senate Democrat seeking reelection in a state Trump won in 2024.

“The results may not be what we wanted tonight, but y’all that’s OK,” Collins told supporters, calling Trump the best president of his lifetime, according to AP.

In New Hampshire, AP said Rep. Chris Pappas defeated former Sen. John E. Sununu to keep retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s seat in Democratic hands. Pappas will be the first openly gay male senator.

Pappas called his win a “victory for Team New Hampshire over the broken status quo.” Trump had endorsed Sununu, who served three House terms and one Senate term before losing in 2008.

Republicans got good news in Florida, where Sen. Ashley Moody defeated Democrat Angie Nixon. AP called that race at 8:34 p.m. ET, according to the Washington Examiner.

Moody was appointed in 2025 to replace Marco Rubio when he became secretary of state, and Tuesday’s election was to finish the remainder of his term, AP noted.

Democratic Sens. Mark Warner, Chris Coons, Jack Reed, Cory Booker and Ed Markey all won reelection, and Juliana Stratton won the open Illinois seat, according to AP’s running results.

AP also declared Democratic Sens. John Hickenlooper of Colorado and Ben Lujan of New Mexico the winners at 9 p.m. ET, both in states the party was expected to hold.

Control of the chamber was still unresolved as of about 9:15 p.m. ET Tuesday, with polls open in many states. Democrats need a net gain of four seats for a majority, AP said.

More than 59 million Americans had cast ballots before Election Day, surpassing early turnout from 2022, according to an Associated Press analysis, as voters weighed high prices, the war in Iran and concerns about corruption.

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