Democrat Roy Cooper needs to defy North Carolina history to keep winning streak alive in Senate race

North Carolina Democrats have had success in winning elections for governor

RALEIGH, N.C. -- North Carolina does not mind electing Democrats as governor, but it is a different matter when it comes to sending them to the U.S. Senate.

Roy Cooper, who led the state for two terms, is trying to change that with a campaign that could reshape power in Washington.

Standing in his way is Michael Whatley, who has Donald Trump’s full backing after previously serving as the president’s chosen Republican National Committee chairman.

Both Cooper and Whatley easily won their party's primaries this week, solidifying one of this year's marquee Senate races. The campaign will draw hundreds of millions in spending because North Carolina is critical to Democratic efforts to pick up the four seats necessary to win a Senate majority.

Republicans want to frame Cooper as too far left for a state that Trump won three times. That tried-and-true tactic echoes past victories over Democrats they cast as out-of-step rubber stamps for liberal leaders, and it will test Cooper’s bond with voters established across four decades of winning campaigns as a state lawmaker, attorney general and governor.