Whatley stops by Uptown Shelby on campaign trail for U.S. Senate
- Chuck Thompson
- Sep 20
- 4 min read
What felt like a classic small town drop-in at a local uptown cafe, Senate candidate Michael Whatley held a meet and greet Saturday morning at The Shelby Café.
Among those in attendance were State Senator Ted Alexander, 110 N.C. House Representative Kelly Hastings, 111 N.C. House seat Representative Paul Scott, various members of the Cleveland County GOP and local residents.
Whatley, Scott, Hastings and Alexander all took a moment to say a few words, with Scott Hastings and Alexander giving their endorsement to Whatley.
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After a few words from the N.C. Legislators, Whatley took a moment to thank everyone for coming out, and the Shelby Cafe for hosting the gathering.
Whatley said President Trump called him, encouraging him to enter the race, stating, “President Trump called me about five or six weeks ago, and strongly suggested I get into the race.”
He continued, “He needs an ally in the Senate, and North Carolina needs a conservative voice in the Senate and I’m going to be that voice. When we think of North Carolina, we need to rebuild our economy to restore our borders and make sure America is respected again in the world, those issues are important to North Carolinians.”
Whatley criticized former Governor Roy Cooper, his opponent in the U.S. Senate race, mentioning what he referred to as Cooper’s ‘soft-on-crime’ tactics.
“What we need to do is make absolutely sure that we are going to keep our kids and communities safe; and we cannot have a soft-on-crime governor elevated up to the Senate. This is a guy, who has caught the New York, Chicago and San Francisco values – I’m going to be fighting for North Carolina values, for Shelby values, for Cleveland County values.”
Whatley then walked around and talked to people in attendance, shaking hands.
“I’ve known Michael (Whatley) for a long time, so it was an honor to introduce him to the 110th House district.” Hastings said, giving his full support to Whatley.
State Senator Ted Alexander spoke to The Shelby Independent about Whatley, “This Senate race is extremely important,” explained Alexander. “North Carolina is probably the tip of the spear in terms of the Senate’s balance of power. Michael Whatley has demonstrated his ability to lead not only the state’s party, but he would do an outstanding job in the United States Senate.”
After the event, Whatley took time to talk directly with The Shelby Independent, mentioning the reasons he feels he is closing in on Cooper’s lead according to the most recent polls.
“What we’re seeing is more people are understanding that North Carolina needs a conservative voice in the Senate, and that we are going to run to make North Carolina better, to put North Carolina first. We’re going to have economic policies that are going to create jobs and raise wages, we will have trade policies that are going to help farms and factories, and small businesses. We back the blue, too, and keep our communities safe. Those are the values of North Carolina, those are the values I’m running on, and as more people hear the message that is why our support is growing.”
He expanded further on community safety across North Carolina, mentioning the Lite Rail murder of Ukrainian immigrant Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte.
“It’s absolutely tragic what happened in Charlotte,” noted Whatley. “The fact is that Roy Cooper is the one that signed the executive order that set up the revolving door on crime. He’s the one that said we’re going to have cashless bail all across North Carolina; he’s the one that let 3,5000 violent criminals out before he left office. We don’t need a soft-on-crime Senator; we don’t need a soft-on-crime governor neither.”
He said action was needed, and that is what is happening.
“Ultimately, that is going to be a major issue, which is why I called a press conference with the President Pro Tem of the (N.C.) Senate, Phil Berger, with House Speaker Dustin Hall, and called on the legislator to enact legislation to roll back those soft-on-crime policies and keep our children and communities safe.”
Whatley served as the 66th chairman of the Republican National Committee from March 2024 to August 2025. He previously served as chair of the North Carolina Republican Party from 2019 to 2024; he also served as the RNC's general counsel. He and former Gov. Roy Cooper are vying for the U.S. Senate seat to replace retiring Republican Senator Thom Tillis.
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Chuck Thompson is a reporter for The Shelby Independent.
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