RALEIGH — The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has endorsed Michael Whatley for U.S. Senate, telling a Raleigh audience that a growing economy is how he would raise wages and widen opportunity in North Carolina.
Courtney Felts, the Chamber’s senior vice president, head of marketing and messaging strategy, and managing director of its New Fight for Free Enterprise effort, gave the endorsement at an event for Whatley in Raleigh, the Chamber said in a statement posted on its website Thursday.
“Michael Whatley knows that the best way to lift up North Carolinians—to lift their wages, expand their opportunities, make the future brighter for their children—is through a growing economy fueled by free enterprise,” Felts said, according to that statement. “Michael will support the policies that will drive economic growth and improve quality of life for North Carolinians. Michael supports the policies that will enable job creators to do what they do best: serve people, solve problems, and strengthen this state. On behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, it is my privilege to stand with you today and endorse your candidacy for U.S. Senate.”
The Chamber said it endorses federal candidates who will support policies that drive innovation, grow the economy, and create opportunities for American businesses and workers. It called itself the world’s largest business organization, with members from small businesses and local chambers to large corporations.
Whatley is the Republican nominee for the seat Sen. Thom Tillis is leaving. Former Gov. Roy Cooper is the Democratic nominee.
Earlier coverage: Trump endorses Whatley for the Senate seat, Whatley casts Cooper as a “radical” in Dallas, and Cooper on a GOP money advantage.
What Whatley said
The North Carolina Republican Party, in a release dated Sept. 30, said the endorsement came that day in Raleigh and quoted Whatley accepting it.
“I am honored to receive the U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorsement in my race,” Whatley said, according to the party. “Business owners know that Roy Cooper’s agenda will bring higher taxes, more regulations and higher costs, stifling innovation, and cut off job growth. As your Senator I will fight for tax, trade and regulatory policies that will allow small businesses, manufacturers and farmers to create more jobs here in North Carolina.”
That contrast is Whatley’s, as carried by the state party. The Chamber’s own statement does not mention Cooper, taxes, or regulation. It stays on growth and free enterprise.
The party release’s footer says it is paid for by the North Carolina Republican Party and is not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. As of publication, this desk had not opened a post on Whatley’s own account to confirm the wording.
How the tip arrived
Blue Ridge Times put the same Felts quotation on Facebook at 11:00 a.m. ET Thursday and pointed readers to its own story. The lines in that post match the Chamber’s statement. This article uses the Chamber’s release for the quotation, not the Blue Ridge Times story.
The Chamber’s page is dated Oct. 1. Its page code carries two clocks that do not agree: one mark at 9:34 p.m. ET on Sept. 30, and another at 1:34 p.m. ET on Oct. 1. The state party release is the document that dates the Raleigh event to Sept. 30. As of publication, the Chamber had not named a venue inside Raleigh.
Source note
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, “U.S. Chamber Endorses Michael Whatley for U.S. Senate in North Carolina,” dated Oct. 1, 2026 (https://www.uschamber.com/improving-government/u-s-chamber-endorses-michael-whatley-for-u-s-senate-in-north-carolina). North Carolina Republican Party, “Michael Whatley Endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce,” Sept. 30, 2026 (https://www.nc.gop/michael_whatley_endorsed_by_the_u_s_chamber_of_commerce). Tip: Blue Ridge Times Facebook post, Oct. 1, 2026, 11:00 a.m. ET (https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=122177800748853500&id=61575605000088), which links to https://www.theblueridgetimes.com/news/us-chamber-endorses-michael-whatley-for-senate. The Blue Ridge Times story was not used as a source. As of publication, Whatley’s own social post accepting the endorsement had not been opened.
Cover: File photo, not the Raleigh endorsement. Michael Whatley at The People’s Convention, Huntington Place, Detroit, June 15, 2024. Photo: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
