Washington sees Carolina Senate race pivotal in controlling chamber, voters talk hurricane recovery

While Washington Democrats and Republicans wade into the North Carolina Senate race with expectations that their respective efforts will result in a win and control of the upper chamber, state voters are focused closer to home – pushing the nominees to commit to a more aggressive Hurricane Helene recovery as the storm's two-year anniversary approaches.

Both nominees have come under scrutiny for what they have so far done, in what is largely considered a slow recovery effort, particularly in the western region of the state. 

Federal officials say the September 2024 storm, which roared throughout the state, at times with "catastrophic" consequences, damaged over 190,000 miles of National Forest, 885 miles of roads and 171 miles of the famed Appalachian National Scenic Trail. 

State officials put the total cost at roughly $60 billion. 

Republican nominee Michael Whatley, whom President Trump appointed as his "recovery czar," is facing questions from likely voters and others about the federal government having so far delivered just $5 billion to the recovery effort, with the state subsidizing roughly $4.4 billion.

At the same time, they're saying that Democratic nominee Roy Cooper, who was governor at the time, should have done more.

“I think there’s a general sense in the west [part of the state] that it has not been enough,” Western Carolina University political science professor Christopher Cooper told Just the News this week.

He also argued that voter ire – and concern – is not entirely focused on Whatley and Cooper – with widespread and varied views also assessing blame on the Trump administration as a whole and Democrat Gov. Josh Stein, who took office roughly three months into storm recovery.

"“There's a general sense of dissatisfaction, and I think there's a lot of uncertainty about who's going to get the blame," Cooper also said. "Is it the state or is it the federal government?"

A U.S. Forest Service spokesperson seemed to take a more quixotic view of the matter when speaking to Just the News on Thursday. 

“From the outset, it was clear that recovery would require an all‑hands‑on‑deck approach and that no single jurisdiction could manage the effort alone,” the spokesperson said. 

Like other Americans, Carolina voters are also concerned about the economy. But the difference is the hurricane recovery and the nationwide "affordability" issue are very much intertwined in the state. 

“The whole country is obviously dealing with economic woes of varying degrees," the professor said. “It's impossible to separate the economy from Helene in western North Carolina."

The Cooper-Whatley race remains close, as the nominees traverse the state to make their case to voters.  

Cooper leads by 8.5 points, according to the most recent RealClearPolitics.com polling average, with full voter engagement historically not expected until after Labor Day.

As evidence of how important the race is to Washington Republicans, who want to keep their Senate majority, and Democrats, who want to retake it, the Senate Majority PAC, a political action committee aligned with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, of New York, recently pledged $11 million toward Cooper flipping the seat, now held by outgoing GOP Sen. Thom Tillis.

The PAC previously pledged $31 million toward the effort, and the new pledge will bring the total to $42 million, according to local news outlet WRAL.com.

Meanwhile, the Senate’s top GOP super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, plans to spend $71 million this year in North Carolina and a few weeks ago launched a $17 million summer ad campaign in the state – the biggest ad reservation in the country so far this cycle, according to Politico.

Cooper, during his recent campaign stop at the Buncombe County Democratic Party headquarters, in hard-hit Asheville, argued that Whatley, a former Republican National Committee chairman, has failed to convey to the Trump administration and others in Washington that the region “desperately needs more federal funding." 

He specifically pointed to the White House’s recent supplemental spending request to Congress that includes nearly $88 billion to pay for the Iran war, aid for farmers and other priorities, but nothing for the hurricane aftermath.  

"Helene recovery needs to be in it," Cooper said. 

Whatley campaign spokesperson D.J. Griffin responded by saying Cooper was "a complete failure at helping western North Carolina recover."

He also said, “while North Carolinians were suffering, Roy Cooper was off gallivanting at a climate change gala in New York," referring to the nominee's attending a New York Times event prior to the hurricane hitting North Carolina.

Katherine Pugh is a reporter for Just the News. Follow her on X for more coverage.