ECU Poll: Cooper Leads Whatley by 7 points

<p class='reportable-dateline'><strong>GREENVILLE, NC, SEPTEMBER 10, 2026</strong></p><p class='reportable-excerpt'>The latest ECU Poll of North Carolina’s upcoming U.S. Senate election, conducted August 31 through September 3, shows Democratic nominee Roy Cooper leading Republican nominee Michael Whatley, 46% to 39%, with 14% undecided and the remainder supporting a minor-party or write-in candidate. On a forced-choice measure without an undecided option, Cooper leads Whatley, 52% to 44%, with the remainder supporting a minor-party or write-in candidate. (The poll’s credibility interval, which is similar to a margin of error, is +/- 4.4 percentage points.)</p><p>To view the full announcement, including downloadable images, bios, and more, <a href='https://surveyresearch-ecu.reportablenews.com/pr/ecu-poll-cooper-leads-whatley-by-7-points' class='reportable-link'>click here</a>.</p><div class='reportable-key-takeaways'><h3>Key Takeaways:</h3><ul><li>The latest ECU Poll, conducted August 31 through September 3, shows Democrat Roy Cooper leading Republican Michael Whatley 46% to 39%. </li><li>The economy is the top issue for 43% of likely voters, and among those voters Cooper leads Whatley 58% to 25%.</li><li>Likely voters hold more defined and favorable views of Cooper than of Whatley, with Cooper at 47% favorable and 40% unfavorable versus Whatley at 33% favorable, 34% unfavorable, and about one-third unsure or unfamiliar.</li></ul></div><a href='https://surveyresearch-ecu.reportablenews.com/pr/ecu-poll-cooper-leads-whatley-by-7-points'><img src='https://cdn.filestackcontent.com/k8ck1bVdSYb3kauQk4el' class='reportable-featured-image' /><p align='center'><i>Click image above to view full announcement.</i></p></a><hr class='company-boilerplate-rule' style='border: 0; border-top: 1px solid rgba(0,0,0,0.1);'><p class='company-boilerplate'><p>The ECU Center for Survey Research, which directed this poll, is a member of the AAPOR Transparency Initiative (TI). For additional information about the ECU Poll and its methodology, please refer to the documentation provided in the TI report.</p></p><div class='reportable-contacts'><h3>Contacts:</h3><p class='reportable-contact'>Peter Francia<br>2523676126<br><a href='mailto:franciap@ecu.edu'>franciap@ecu.edu</a></p><p class='reportable-contact'>Jonathan Morris<br>252-367-1067<br><a href='mailto:morrisj@ecu.edu '>morrisj@ecu.edu </a></p></div><p>Source: <a href='https://surveyresearch-ecu.reportablenews.com/'>ECU Center for Survey Research</a></p><p>Distributed by: <a href='https://reportablenews.com'>Reportable, Inc.</a></p>