How Michael Whatley should deal with silly questions about his birthplace | Opinion

I did not expect North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race to have a birther movement, but here we are.

NBC News dropped a bombshell report last week revealing that Republican nominee Michael Whatley was actually born in Michigan and lived there for much of his childhood before moving to Blowing Rock in high school.

But Whatley’s campaign website says he was “raised in Blowing Rock,” and on the campaign trail, he often says he “grew up” there.

That’s it. That’s the scandal.

Of course, social media had a field day because while this is dumb, it is also funny. The whole thing gets ridiculous fast. Where does the investigation go next? Does Roy Cooper really drink as much Diet Sun Drop as advertised? Did he actually purchase that red Carolina Hurricanes polo in 2006, as he claims? Because it looks awfully crisp for a 20-year-old shirt.

It is not especially fair that Whatley gets this kind of scrutiny while Cooper has spent decades building a familiar North Carolina persona with far less second-guessing. But such is life.

This is what happens when a first-time candidate faces a political lifer.

Small tests, big problems

The Michigan detail itself is not the problem. Whatley moved to North Carolina while still a child, graduated from Watauga High School and built much of his adult life here. Calling Blowing Rock formative is not some elaborate act of identity theft.

The problem is that Whatley keeps treating small authenticity tests like major threats.

The same pattern showed up with the Carolina Hurricanes flap. His campaign posted a pro-Canes graphic that appeared to be generated by artificial intelligence and included depictions of players who were not quite actual Hurricanes. Then, when reporters asked him to name a favorite Hurricanes player, he struggled.

Again, who cares? Hockey knowledge is not a qualification for the U.S. Senate. Most voters could not name a Hurricanes player either.

But campaigns are partly about comfort. Cooper’s story is already baked in. Whatley is still introducing himself, and each awkward response makes the next question feel larger than it should.

Make fun of it

That is why Whatley would be better off owning the Michigan detail with a little humor.

I was born in Florida and moved to North Carolina when I was 5. I would not call myself a North Carolina native, but I was raised here. If someone moved here at 10, I would probably say the same. At 15, maybe not. These lines are fuzzier than political campaigns pretend.

So make fun of it.

Put out a video. Show the birth certificate and joke about not having the “long form” version. Show the Watauga High yearbook. Talk about moving to Blowing Rock as a teenager, delivering newspapers, going to school, playing sports, going to church and becoming who he is in North Carolina.

Same with the Hurricanes thing. Do not try to out-Canes Roy Cooper. Do not pretend to have Rod Brind’Amour’s line changes memorized. Just say you were pulling for the team, got chirped by real Canes fans and deserved it.

Voters can forgive awkward. They are less forgiving when a candidate seems afraid of his own biography.

A first-time candidate will make first-time candidate mistakes. The trick is not to pretend they did not happen. The trick is to turn them into evidence that you are normal.

Contributing columnist Andrew Dunn is the publisher of the Longleaf Politics newsletter, which offers thoughtful analysis of North Carolina politics and policy from a conservative perspective. He served as the communication director for Dan Forest in his 2020 run for governor of North Carolina. He can be reached at andrew@longleafpol.com.

This story was originally published June 29, 2026 at 12:11 PM with the headline "How Michael Whatley should deal with silly questions about his birthplace | Opinion."