“While Roy spent his career putting rapists and violent criminals behind bars and signing tough-on-crime laws as governor, Michael Whatley spent his appointing a convicted child sex predator who served six years in prison and spent over a decade as a registered sex offender to a top role within the North Carolina Republican Party that gave him access to events with children,”

Cooper campaign · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-05

The Cooper campaign issued a statement to Fox News Digital responding to the story by referencing opponent Michael Whatley's appointment of a convicted sex offender to a top Republican Party role.