Michael Whatley thinks North Carolinians support Iran war. What polls say | Opinion
President Donald Trump’s war with Iran is not popular in North Carolina.
Recent polling suggests that slim majorities of North Carolina voters oppose military involvement in Iran, while even larger majorities oppose putting troops on the ground in Iran. Trump has already deployed thousands of U.S. troops to the Middle East, including the 82nd Airborne Division, which is based in North Carolina. He has declined to rule out the possibility of sending ground troops into Iran.
A poll from Elon University found that 51% of North Carolinians oppose U.S. military involvement in Iran overall, and nearly two-thirds oppose sending a large number of ground troops into Iran. A Catawba College poll found that only one-third of North Carolinians agree that the U.S. was right to militarily intervene in Iran, and only 18% support land forces on the ground in Iran.
Among North Carolina’s U.S. Senate candidates, opinion is predictably split. Republican Michael Whatley, a staunch Trump ally, has backed the president’s actions and framed it as a righteous cause that will make America safer, saying that North Carolina is “the tip of the spear” when it comes to protecting the country’s interests abroad. Whatley, however, has claimed that Americans are “absolutely with the president” on the issue and that “most of North Carolina supports” the principles that led Trump to attack Iran, even after a reporter pointed out that polling says otherwise. He has also pushed back on the premise that the U.S. is sacrificing soldiers in another “forever war.”
“We support this mission, and we need to make sure we see it through,” Whatley said earlier this month.
Support for the conflict could also hurt Whatley on another issue that has been a thorn in the side of Republicans: the economy. Gas prices have skyrocketed, and gas prices are Americans’ top concern in the war, polls show. Our involvement in Iran could benefit Whatley, however — a recent column in The Fayetteville Observer pointed out that Whatley’s investment portfolio, a large chunk of which is invested in oil and gas stocks, has seen a windfall since the launch of Operation Epic Fury in Iran.
The affordability aspect is something that Whatley’s opponent, former Gov. Roy Cooper, has been all too happy to capitalize on, as one of the biggest pillars of his campaign is to “make stuff cost less.” Cooper has also stated that he is “concerned about the exit strategy” of the war and believes the Trump administration should “refocus on people here at home.” He’s also criticized the amount of money the White House wants to spend on the war, saying that it “would pay for affordable health care for nearly 10 years.”
Whatley — and Trump — may truly believe that this war with Iran is justified. But voters don’t seem to agree, and their attempts at persuasion don’t seem to be working. An unpopular war is always politically treacherous, no matter how necessary or righteous its proponents believe it to be. This is already the least popular conflict in modern history, and no candidate should want to attach themselves to it.
Trump did announce a brief ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday, the same day that he threatened to annihilate “a whole civilization” if Iran did not comply with his demands. But the agreement is shaky, and it’s unclear what will happen when it ends, which could keep Whatley in an uncomfortable position of defending and campaigning on an issue that voters don’t support. It’s a position Whatley is probably used to by now, but if he hopes to close in on Cooper’s comfortable lead, he ought to readjust.
Deputy Opinion Editor Paige Masten is covering politics and the 2026 elections for The Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer.
This story was originally published April 9, 2026 at 12:08 PM.
