Trump Campaigns in North Carolina for Republican Senate Candidate: ‘Pretend It’s Me on the Ballot’

US President Donald Trump holds his first major campaign rally on Wednesday since the midterm Republican convention, in North Carolina, in support of Republican Senate candidate Michael Whatley — kicking off a nationwide effort to turn the November 3 elections into a referendum on his presidency.

The visit comes as Trump seeks to help Whatley, a longtime Republican operative and former chair of the Republican National Committee, close the polling gap against former Democratic governor Roy Cooper.

Trump remains a powerful force within the Republican base, but Whatley will also need to win over North Carolina’s independent and unaffiliated voters, as cost-of-living concerns have weakened support for Trump among more moderate voters. Trump told Republicans at the Dallas convention last week to “pretend it’s me on the ballot,” even though he is not a candidate, and has pledged several campaign stops in key states and districts ahead of the November 3 elections.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll last week put Trump’s approval at 35%, up from a record low of 33% in the previous poll. Democrats lead Republicans 44% to 37% on the generic congressional ballot — the widest Democratic advantage in the Reuters/Ipsos series since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.

Fuel prices have deepened the affordability challenge: the national average for gasoline was $4.33 per gallon on Tuesday, while diesel hit a record $6.27, according to AAA. The North Carolina Senate race is open after Republican Senator Thom Tillis decided not to seek re-election following a feud with Trump that wrecked his standing within the party. An Elon University poll put Cooper at 49% against 38% for Whatley, while 54% of North Carolina voters disapprove of Trump’s job performance and only 31% approve.

The White House signaled that Trump will use the North Carolina event to highlight his administration’s record on fighting crime — a recurring theme of Whatley’s campaign. According to an Elon poll in August, 72% of voters who said they voted for Trump in 2024 back Whatley, 10% back Cooper and 14% are undecided; Cooper, on the other hand, gets 93% of voters who said they voted for Kamala Harris. Unaffiliated voters make up about 40% of North Carolina’s registered electorate, the largest registration bloc.

Democrats are seeking to turn the race into a referendum on Trump and his policies. “Whatley has tied himself to Trump and, looking at the polls, I wouldn’t do that,” said North Carolina Democratic Party chair Anderson Clayton.

Source: Reuters