(The Center Square) – To reach North Carolina’s ever-growing middle ground of registered voters, U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley says the agenda of his campaign is built on the economy, safety of children and the safety of the country as a whole.
Appearing Wednesday on The Center Square Daily, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee said, “You’ve got to talk about the issues they care about.” And from Murphy to Manteo, that means nearly 40% of those registered unaffiliated from either major party as well as the 30% each of Democrats and Republicans.
“We’re going to make sure that there are more jobs and higher paying jobs, make sure that we have lower taxes and lower costs,” Whatley said. “We’re going to make sure that we’re going to keep our kids and our communities safe by supporting our law enforcement, backing the blue, and keeping prisoners behind bars, as well as supporting our men and women in uniform.”
North Carolina is home to an estimated 720,000 veterans, roughly 90,000 active-duty military, and about 43,000 National Guard and reservists. Texas, Florida, California and Pennsylvania rank with North Carolina in the top five of states home to veterans. California, Texas and Virginia are the only states with more active-duty military.
North Carolina’s six major military bases include the U.S. Army’s Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base, both in the southeastern part of the state; Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in eastern North Carolina; and U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Camp Lejeune and MCAS New River along the coast, not more than an hour’s drive from the more inland MCAS Cherry Point. There are also two U.S. Coast Guard bases along the northern coast at Elizabeth City; and the Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point on the southern coast in Brunswick County.
“Almost 10% of our nation’s armed forces are based right here in North Carolina,” Whatley told host Greg Bishop on The Center Square Daily. “We have 720,000 veterans, more than any other state in the country. So, we’ve got to make sure that we’re paying attention to those issues as well. And really, truly, when you think about our independents, our unaffiliated voters, which make up 40% of the electorate, they are going to want to know that you’re fighting for them. I’m going to be out there fighting for every family in every county across this state.”
Whatley, as he spoke, was just three counties shy of having visited all 100. His experience has had him in touch with them before – years as chairman of the state’s Republican Party; chief of staff for former Sen. Elizabeth Dole; and presidential administrations of George W. Bush and the first term of Donald Trump.
In the exclusive segment for the national wire service, Whatley told The Center Square the No. 1 priority for any government level is keeping citizens safe. He also said economic policy of the administrations in Washington and Raleigh are delivering real money to voters; his chief opponent, Roy Cooper, is in lock step with Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer, Bernie Sanders “and the rest of the woke mob”; and Democrats have abused the filibuster.
He said if the filibuster abuse continues, “We’ve got to put all options on the table in terms of making sure that we can move forward with the agenda that the American people elected the Republican House, the Republican Senate and President Trump to get moving.”
While crime in general has polled closer to the low end of the top 10 with voters across the state, Democratic candidate Roy Cooper’s litigation settlement with the NAACP and ACLU in February 2021 has risen into a pivotal campaign point.
Cooper bills himself as a prosecutor of criminals and overseeing “a sharp decrease in crime.” The settlement included no public release of names, and that lack of transparency has since changed. Fifty-one were on death row in what was described five years ago as a plan to release inmates who had not committed crimes against other people; were pregnant; were scheduled to be released in 2021; and were planned to be granted early release to those on track for parole.
The New York Post analysis of just what has happened since the release is 18 are charged with murder and 600 went on to pick up charges in homicides, sex offenses “or other violent crimes.”
“Roy Cooper allowed 3,500-plus prisoners out of prison, hardened criminals that he let out of prison, who then went on a rampage after they got out,” Whatley said. “When we talk about him keeping people safe, the fact is of over 4,000 criminals that he let out, 700-plus of them had committed assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault, sexual assaults, rapes, and even murders. And once those people got back on the ground, they went right back to their ways.”
The two campaigns differ when talking about DeCarlos Brown Jr. He’s the suspect from Charlotte charged in the stabbing death of Iryna Zarutska aboard a Charlotte light rail on Aug. 22, video of which went viral about two weeks later, drawing national attention, including from the president.
Cooper’s campaign says he wasn’t on the list and that he was released earlier. His opponents say the settlement terms allowed that earlier release to make him among those counted in order to satisfy the number required. Either way, the cashless bail system – in respective majorities, Democrats are for it and Republicans against it – in place in January 2025 allowed him to go free after a 14th arrest.
“He’s never explained to the public why he let those people out,” Whatley told The Center Square. “He’s never explained why those were the prisoners that were on the list that he released, and he certainly never apologized to the victims or their families for releasing the criminals that went on to recommit those offenses.
“The people of North Carolina want to know that they’re going to be able to protect their kids, that they’re going to be able to raise their kids in a safe and secure environment. And with Roy Cooper, that was absolutely not the case.”
