Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley is hopping on the Carolina Hurricanes bandwagon as the team aims for its first Stanley Cup in two decades.
But how deep-rooted is his enthusiasm for the Canes?
Shortly before Tuesday’s series opener in Raleigh, the senatorial hopeful posted a pair of graphics to his social media channels. The problem: The individuals depicted in them didn’t appear to be actual players on the Hurricanes roster. Several social media users, including Democratic Senate opponent Roy Cooper’s campaign team, jumped into Whatley’s comments to ask who the players were supposed to be.
After a Wednesday event in Zebulon focusing on President Donald Trump’s policy of not taxing tips, Whatley acknowledged the visuals were AI-generated, but doubled down on his excitement for the team—without getting too specific.
When I asked who his three favorite players are, Whatley replied, “You know, I think we like them all.”
“Don’t have a favorite player?” I followed up.
“Look, I think that that’s a team that’s loaded,” he continued. “They’re playing offense really well.”
As to how the social media posts came about, he said, “That’s just a graphic that we created.” (Whatley later said the visuals were AI generated and “not a big deal”).
I gave him one final opportunity to demonstrate his fandom as he wrapped up his 8-minute gaggle with reporters: “Last chance: Can you name one Hurricanes player?”
An exasperated Whatley gave a thumbs up and walked away. “Thanks, guys, appreciate it very much.”
Within two minutes, North Carolina Republican Party spokesman Matt Mercer intercepted Whatley and pulled me to the side to get an answer from the candidate.
“Jaccob Slavin,” Whatley said, before I could utter a word. “I think that this is a guy who has an outspoken faith in God. He works hard every single day and kind of represents the best of the sport.”
“Did anyone tell you to say Jaccob Slavin?” I asked.
“Nope, we’re good,” Whatley said.
Whatley is trying to overcome a substantial name-identification gap with Cooper, the former governor. Cooper is also a devoted Hurricanes fan and enthusiastic playoff tailgater. The Democrat’s campaign seized on Whatley’s Canes visuals to portray him as out of touch.
“Guess they might not carry our games up in DC…” Cooper campaign spokesperson Jordan Monaghan wrote on X.
New public opinion polls released by the liberal advocacy group Carolina Forward and the conservative Carolina Journal show Whatley trailing Cooper. Both candidates have taken aim at one another, with Whatley focusing on Cooper’s record on crime and Cooper hammering Whatley for his unwillingness to buck President Donald Trump on key issues, including the war in Iran.
The two candidates are hoping to make affordability central to their campaigns. At a roundtable discussion on Wednesday, Whatley vowed to make homeownership more affordable, work to lower gas and grocery prices, and keep more money in taxpayers’ pockets (his campaign website doesn’t detail specific policy proposals).
“We need to create more jobs and better jobs,” Whatley said. “That’s my economic agenda. That’s what we’re going to be talking about every single day.”
