Canes won, slush fund zero.

Cooper is cavorting with Canes fans while Whatley is wallowing in Trump world.

Roy Cooper tailgating

The two campaigns for US Senate in North Carolina couldn’t be more different. Former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper is wandering around the parking lot of the Lenovo Center decked out in Carolina Hurricanes garb, crashing tailgate parties, and breaking down the Canes’ chances of winning the Stanley Cup with fellow fans. Former RNC Chair Michael Whatley is endorsing Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion slush fund for perpetrators of January 6 with GOP conspiracy theorists and making sure that the anchor of Trump’s approval ratings is firmly attached to his leg.

Cooper’s love of the Hurricanes is well known. He’s been a fan since the team moved to Raleigh and was frequently sighted at games while he was governor. He’s been on radio and podcasts discussing the team and breaking down games. He got lucky to be running when the Canes have one of the best teams in the NHL and may be heading to the Stanley Cup Finals. (Canes won last night in overtime and hold a 2-1 advantage in the semifinals). People across much of the state are paying attention to both the Hurricanes and Cooper.

After years of hyper-politicization, people are ready for a break. Cooper is giving it to them, even if inadvertently. He’s setting aside politics and embracing hockey, something that has no party lines but, more importantly, is the type of distraction we all need. He’s talking sports, not policy. He’s both humanizing himself and showing there’s more to life than politics.

In contrast, Whatley can’t let politics go. In particular, he can’t let go of Donald Trump. I guess he’s calculating that somehow the president’s approval ratings are going to turn around and he’ll ride that popularity to victory. It doesn’t make much sense to me, but here we are.

Whatley is putting himself on the wrong side of issue after issue. His support for the J-6 slush fund puts him in direct contrast with sitting Senator Thom Tillis. Tillis called the fund “beyond the pale” and said, “There’s not one positive thing that could be spun out of this between now and November. This is bad policy, it’s bad timing and it’s bad politics.”

Whatley’s embrace of the slush fund should make people question both his political acumen and his motives. The GOP Senate leadership is pushing back because they consider the measure politically toxic, putting their majority at even more risk. Either Whatley sees it differently or he’s more concerned with staying in Trump’s good graces than doing what is right. So far, he’s shown no independence about anything. He just toes the MAGA party line.

Cooper not only leads Whatley in every poll, but he’s running laps around him on the campaign trail. He’s making himself more accessible and less political. Whatley, in contrast, looks like he’s running in a MAGA primary, alienating moderate voters to secure the votes of the most extreme GOP primary voters, even though they have nowhere else to go. Cooper is working to connect with voters while Whatley is betting his campaign on the popularity of Trump.