Michael Whatley Senate campaign faces scrutiny over tactics and spending

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Michael Whatley is facing scrutiny over campaign tactics and spending in North Carolina. Reports indicate that the Senate Republican leadership is funding a $71 million operation to support Whatley’s campaign, which includes the use of a website named ‘Pine & Cardinal’ that mimics the appearance of a legitimate local news outlet. This ‘pink-slime journalism’ tactic is allegedly designed to distribute political propaganda and smear Democratic opponent Roy Cooper under the guise of local reporting.

Additionally, campaign finance filings have revealed discrepancies in Whatley’s campaign messaging. While television advertisements portray him as a candidate traveling the state in a truck to connect with working families, records show his campaign committees have spent over $100,000 on private jet travel since September 2025. These flights were made through N5YD LLC, an anonymously registered company in Wyoming, with a paper trail linking the aircraft to Carl Andrew ‘Drew’ Boggs.