New Whatley ad distorts Cooper’s record on taxes

A new ad from Republican Michael Whatley distorts former Gov. Roy Cooper’s record on taxes.

Whatley and Cooper are competing for North Carolina’s open U.S. Senate seat this year. Cost-of-living issues are expected to be central to the race.

The ad, which is running statewide on streaming services, claims “Cooper backs higher taxes on tips and overtime and even higher taxes on Social Security,” while promising that Whatley will “cut taxes and make life more affordable.”

Some of these claims appear linked to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), the Republican budget law that created temporary tax deductions for some tips and overtime but also created permanent tax breaks for wealthy Americans and imposed deep cuts to Medicaid. Cooper opposed the law, specifically citing its health care cuts as problematic.

“Groceries are higher, utilities are higher, rent is higher, childcare is higher and harder to find, and now we’re seeing the cost of health care significantly increase, or even be eliminated, by the ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ that just passed,” Cooper said last year. “My opponent, Michael Whatley, says that he would have voted for the Big, Beautiful Bill in a heartbeat.”

Whatley’s ad is further undermined by the fact that Cooper has endorsed eliminating taxes for tips, overtime, and Social Security benefits on multiple occasions.

As governor, Cooper enacted a bipartisan budget in 2021 that cut taxes for the vast majority of North Carolinians. Whatley praised Cooper for signing the budget, calling it “one of the best bills for North Carolina that we’ve ever seen.”

Cooper signed an earlier middle-class tax cut into law in 2019.

A recent Public Policy Survey shows Cooper leading Whatley in the Senate race by four points. The poll suggests the race may be tightening, as it shows a closer contest than previous surveys.