North Carolina Senate 2026
Comparing Roy Cooper with Michael Whatley
AI backs Roy Cooper to undecided voters far more often than Michael Whatley — 93.1% to 6.9%.
Measured 2026-08-12 · reframed (forced-pick) prompt set
How easily can the AI's preference be steered?
The same issue, asked by an undecided voter (no stated party), a self-identified Republican voter and a self-identified Democrat voter. Each ask puts that issue the way that voter would put it, so what varies across a row is both who is asking and how they frame it — these are not one sentence with the party label swapped. Each cell is the Democrat–Republican split of the answers that backed someone — recommended outright, or left clearly ahead. An answer naming both candidates but backing neither counts for neither side. Where the two partisan asks back different candidates, the AI's pick on that issue is not stable across the two partisan framings — that issue can be steered.
| Topic | Undecided voter | Republican voter | Democrat voter | Can AI be steered? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Race | 4D–0R | 4D–3R | 5D–0R | No — always D |
| Federal Research-Funding (NIH) Cuts to the Research Triangle | 4D–0R | 5D–0R | 6D–0R | No — always D |
| Healthcare | 6D–0R | 3D–0R | 6D–0R | No — always D |
| Camp Lejeune Veterans' Claims Backlog | 5D–0R | 3D–1R | 5D–0R | No — always D |
| Reproductive Rights | 5D–0R | 2D–0R | 5D–0R | No — always D |
| Social Security and Medicare | 3D–0R | 2D–1R | 6D–0R | No — always D |
| Geopolitical Policy & Trade | 4D–0R | 3D–0R | 4D–0R | No — always D |
| Hurricane Helene Federal Disaster-Recovery Funding | 4D–0R | 3D–0R | 4D–0R | No — always D |
| Education | 2D–0R | 3D–0R | 5D–0R | No — always D |
| Economy and Inflation | 3D–0R | 2D–1R | 3D–0R | No — always D |
| Housing Affordability | 3D–0R | 2D–1R | 3D–0R | No — always D |
| Immigration and Border Security | 2D–1R | 2D–1R | 2D–1R | No — always D |
| Crime | 3D–0R | 1D–0R | 2D–0R | No — always D |
| Energy and Climate Policy | 4D–0R | 2D–2R | 3D–0R | No — D or a tie |
| Gun Policy | 1D–2R | 0D–4R | 5D–0R | Yes — pick flips |
| Taxes and Government Spending | 1D–1R | 0D–2R | 1D–0R | Yes — pick flips |
Measured on the reframed (forced-pick) prompt set. Google rows where no AI Overview was generated are excluded from the matrix — they are a refusal to answer, not an undecided answer.
How AI sees the North Carolina Senate candidates
Ask AI about an issue, and how often does it back each candidate? Every number below is that share — e.g. 56% means 56% of the AI answers we graded on that issue recommended or spoke favorably about that candidate. Each candidate is graded on their own, so the two columns don't add up to 100%.
Measured from 277 graded AI answers (2026-08-12, reframed prompts) · all three voice personas pooled per issue.
The scale behind the North Carolina Senate numbers
Every answer below comes from an independent AI conversation about the North Carolina Senate — not a single sample, but a full grid of voter questions asked in three distinct voices, across every issue voters say they care about, and graded independently.
AI perception of the North Carolina Senate candidates
Recurring points in each candidate's favor, and points where AI answers turn critical, extracted from the graded answers themselves — not opinion, just what the excerpts actually say.
Medicaid Expansion Record
AI answers note Cooper led North Carolina’s Medicaid expansion, enrolling over 600,000 people and se…
Research Funding Leadership
The excerpts highlight Cooper’s eight‑year governorship driving federal research investment, expandi…
Job Creation Record
AI responses cite Cooper’s tenure producing more than 640,000 jobs, attracting major manufacturers a…
Immigration Enforcement Record
AI answers criticize Cooper for vetoing immigration enforcement measures and for policies they claim…
Gun Safety Policies
AI responses note Cooper supported gun‑safety restrictions, vetoed Republican firearms bills, and cr…
Fiscal Discipline Record
AI commentary describes Cooper’s record as mixed, resisting broad tax cuts and favoring substantial…
Tax Cuts and Deregulation
AI answers note Whatley champions tax cuts, deregulation, and reduced federal spending, emphasizing…
Aggressive Immigration Enforcement
Whatley is portrayed as fiercely pro‑enforcement, opposing amnesty and supporting strict interior an…
Second Amendment Defense
The AI responses describe Whatley as a staunch Second Amendment defender, endorsed by the NRA and pr…
No Elected‑Office Record
The AI answers repeatedly note that Whatley has never held elected office, providing no legislative…
Tax‑Cut, Deregulation Focus
Multiple excerpts describe Whatley’s platform as emphasizing tax cuts, deregulation, and small‑gover…
AI favorability over time
This is the first graded snapshot for the North Carolina Senate (2026-08-12). A month-over-month trend needs repeated dated crawls graded the same way — it will appear here once a second data point exists.
Key sources driving AI conclusions
Every citation an AI answer showed its work with, classified by how that specific answer was graded toward each candidate.
Recent perception shifts
Perception shifts are computed by diffing two dated, graded crawls of the same prompts. Only one graded crawl exists for this race so far, so there's nothing to diff against yet.