A Republican super PAC is pouring $17 million into North Carolina television and digital advertising to boost former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, opening what is expected to be one of the country’s most expensive Senate races.

The Senate Leadership Fund campaign is the group’s largest ad reservation in any state so far this cycle and the first portion of its previously announced $71 million commitment to elect Whatley. The summer buy will run across broadcast television, cable and streaming, with direct mail and text messaging planned. 

The opening 30-second spot targets former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s criminal justice record. Senate Leadership Fund argues Cooper’s administration agreed to early release 3,500 inmates under a 2021 settlement over COVID-19 conditions in state prisons and says some later faced new violent-crime charges. The group launched the campaign under the theme “40 Years Is Enough,” a reference to Cooper’s career in state politics. 

Cooper’s campaign called the attacks false, saying his administration fought the underlying lawsuit and that corrections and parole officials used criteria similar to federal pandemic release rules. A recent Assembly review found the settlement’s list included people who were not actually released early and that more than 90% of roughly 3,000 early-release inmates would have finished their sentences by the end of 2021 anyway. 

The spending helps offset Cooper’s candidate-level financial advantage. WRAL reported Cooper raised $14.8 million in the second quarter, compared with $5 million for Whatley. Democrats are bringing outside money too: Senate Majority PAC has now committed about $42 million to support Cooper. 

The race is for the seat of retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis and could help determine Senate control. The $17 million opening salvo confirms North Carolina will be saturated with national money and negative advertising through November.

Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is warning that a major Supreme Court campaign finance ruling could give Republican Michael Whatley a new path to close Democrats’ money advantage in one of the nation’s most closely watched Senate races.

Cooper said the decision could affect his race “more than others” and called it the “worst campaign finance decision since Citizens United,” The Hill reported. Cooper is running against Whatley, a former Republican National Committee chairman, for the open seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Thom Tillis.

The ruling in National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission struck down federal limits on how much political parties may spend in coordination with candidates. Before the decision, national party committees faced state-based caps for Senate races. The court’s majority held the limits violated the First Amendment, while Justice Elena Kagan warned in dissent that the ruling could turn parties into an “alternative checking account” for campaigns.

The decision could matter quickly in North Carolina. WRAL reported Cooper’s campaign raised $13.8 million during the first quarter of 2026, compared with $5 million for Whatley. Including victory committees, Cooper had raised at least $36 million while Whatley had raised at least $16 million.

That candidate-level gap may now be easier for Republicans to offset. Reuters reported Democratic candidates had a $16 million cash advantage in North Carolina, but the Republican National Committee had a major national cash advantage over the Democratic National Committee as the new rules took effect.

The Associated Press reported Cooper and Whatley won their party nominations in March, setting up a fall race that could help determine control of the U.S. Senate. The ruling makes party money, not just candidate fundraising, a central issue in the final stretch.

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Amid Police Week, the National Republican Senatorial Committee is targeting Democrat Senate candidates with a series of ads accusing them of being anti-law enforcement.

The NRSC has produced eight new ads targeting Democrat Senate candidates in battleground states: former Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Graham Platner of Maine, Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia, former Rep. Mary Peltola of Alaska, Rep. Chris Pappas of New Hampshire, and former Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown.

The campaign committee is also targeting three Democrat candidates in Michigan’s Senate primary: Rep. Haley Stevens, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, and former health official Abdul El-Sayed.

 Additionally, one of the ads takes aim at two Iowa Democrat candidates: state Sen. Zach Wahls and state Rep. Josh Turek.

“As Democrats prioritize dangerous illegal immigrants and threaten to abolish law enforcement agencies, Republicans are working to keep criminals behind bars and make communities safe again,” NRSC National Press Secretary Bernadette Breslin told The Daily Signal. 

“Democrats’ soft-on-crime policies are too dangerous for American families,” Breslin added.

In one such ad, a narrator highlights the administration’s work on crime before criticizing Cooper on issues of law enforcement.

“Thanks to Republicans, violent crime is at all-time lows, and American communities are safer,” the narrator begins.

“But Roy Cooper wants to turn back the clock and bring back Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer’s pro-crime agenda that vilifies law enforcement, denies them crucial resources, and prioritizes dangerous illegal immigrants,” the narrator adds. “Americans can’t afford another Democrat crime wave. Reject Roy Cooper and stop the anti-police agenda.”

The ad features news clips highlighting recent drops in violent crime and Senate Democrats’ opposition to renewing Department of Homeland Security funding.

The ads come as Republicans in the Senate are moving to provide funding to immigration enforcement agencies through a party-line budget bill after a monthslong shutdown of DHS. Democrats objected to providing funding to immigration enforcement agencies during the record-setting shutdown.

The Daily Signal reached out for comment from the candidates mentioned in the ads.

“While Roy spent his career putting rapists and violent criminals behind bars and securing raises for law enforcement and public safety officials, Michael Whatley spent his appointing a convicted child sex predator who served time in prison for multiple counts of felony child sex crimes to a powerful position within the North Carolina Republican Party,” a Cooper campaign spokesperson replied, referring to the Republican candidate for Senate in North Carolina.

The spokesperson was speaking of Harvey L. West Jr., a convicted sex offender who held positions in the North Carolina Republican Party at the same time as Whatley was its chairman.

In response to the Cooper campaign, Whatley told The Daily Signal in a statement, “Nineteen innocent North Carolinians are dead because Roy Cooper chose to let violent criminals walk free—including the brutal murderer of Iryna Zarutska. He won’t answer to the families. He won’t explain the releases. He didn’t even follow the law to notify victims.”

Whatley added, “This was a deliberate, reckless choice that prioritized violent criminals ahead of innocent North Carolinians. Roy Cooper failed at his most basic duty as governor, protecting the people of North Carolina, and families paid the price.”

A Peltola spokesperson also responded to The Daily Signal, rejecting the ad’s premise.

“This ad from D.C. political operatives is a lie—Mary has always stood up to her own party to crack down on violent crime and secure the southern border, and that’s what she’ll continue to do when she gets to the U.S. Senate,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

The spokesperson added, “Mary also called out Joe Biden for his failures at the southern border, and she voted for tougher enforcement and billions in funding for Border Patrol. In the Senate, Mary will work with anyone, including President [Donald] Trump, to bring down crime, secure the border, and keep Alaska safe.”

The post Senate Democrat Candidates Hit With ‘Pro-Crime’ Attack Ads first appeared on The Daily Signal.