South Carolina Senate race tied as Cooper leads in North Carolina poll

A New York Times/Siena University poll reported by PBS NewsHour on October 28 put Republican Darline Graham and Democrat Annie Andrews level in South Carolina’s U.S. Senate race, while former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper led Republican Michael Whatley by double digits in North Carolina. The contests matter because Democrats need a net gain of four seats to retake the Senate majority.

South Carolina’s tied Senate race

Graham was appointed to the seat held by her late brother Lindsey Graham, according to PBS. At a campaign appearance, she said, ‘Nobody outworks South Carolinians,’ and said her campaign would keep using that approach. CBS News separately described the Graham–Andrews race as tied, though its video page gave no further poll figures.

Roy Cooper’s lead in North Carolina

In North Carolina, Democrats have not elected a U.S. senator in nearly 20 years, PBS reported. Cooper has made affordability a focus of his campaign. He called tariffs ‘chaotic’ and ‘essentially a tax’ and said he would work to overturn them if elected. His double-digit advantage over Whatley was reported from the same New York Times/Siena poll.

Vice President JD Vance made the Republican case in North Carolina on October 28, urging voters to send a message to Washington that they were tired of being ignored and left behind. The competing appeals underscore the stakes of a race in which the reported poll gives Cooper a lead but voters have yet to decide the seat.

What the contests mean for Senate control

The two races are part of the wider fight for the four seats Democrats need to gain. PBS also reported that President Donald Trump was due to rally voters in Ohio on October 28. The polling figures in South Carolina and North Carolina show where the parties stood in one survey during that campaign, while the seat count will depend on the elections themselves.