Michael Whatley’s ‘Recovery Czar’ Title Hangs Over His Senate Bid

Michael Whatley’s opening message to voters when entering the Senate race in North Carolina was about Hurricane Helene: “Roy Cooper failed to show up,” his first digital campaign ad said.

If Democrats have their way, Hurricane Helene may become more of a liability for the former Republican National Committee chair than an attack line.

President Donald Trump appointed Whatley as the “recovery czar” for western North Carolina after the hurricane. He also serves on the president’s Federal Emergency Management Agency task force, tasked with reenvisioning the agency’s role in disaster response.

Allies of Cooper, the former Democratic governor running for Senate, have pledged to make Whatley’s role in hurricane recovery a big part of their 2026 message. This is a salient issue, Democrats say; people from both parties in western North Carolina are not particularly happy with the recovery efforts, including FEMA’s response.

The open question is who will suffer in the polls over it?

“This is a scar that runs too deep to forget the scar in two years,” said Linda Ford, chair of the Henderson County Democratic Party. “But will you forget who you were blaming for the recovery mess? I don’t know.”

The Senate race, one of the most closely watched of the midterm cycle, pits Cooper, who led the state’s initial response as governor, against Whatley, who was chosen by Trump to oversee the aftermath. Both candidates have criticized each other for failing to help North Carolinians swiftly restore their homes, infrastructure and farmland.

It’s too early to tell what issues will drive voters to the polls next November. But the storm that killed more than 100 people and ravaged thousands of homes is something voters will never forget. And both Republican and Democratic strategists say the current political climate could make Whatley’s “recovery czar” title — and his association with the Trump administration — more of a burden than a résumé booster.

“It’s all going to come down to whether they got the job done or not in the west. And if they did, then it’ll probably be OK. But if they didn’t, it’ll be pretty bad,” said Carter Wrenn, a longtime Republican strategist from North Carolina who has led five successful elections to the Senate.

“Hurricane recovery could turn into a big issue, but I think that the real issue that’s likely to dominate this election is those swing voters who are just not happy with politics today,” Wrenn added. “They blame Trump because he’s the one in power, and that’s a tough election for Republicans.”

Budget shortfalls and staffing shortages at FEMA impeded recovery in the immediate aftermath of the storm when Joe Biden was president. When Trump took office months later, he mused about abolishing the agency and fired its chief. His administration has since waffled on what it wants to do with FEMA, but has cut staff significantly, ended grant programs and added new barriers to funding. North Carolina has joined several lawsuits against FEMA for withholding disaster aid and preparedness funds.

A March poll from Elon University in North Carolina found that 43% of North Carolinians felt FEMA’s response had been poor or very poor.

While it’s still early to tell, historical indicators point to midterm voters blaming the party in power, making the Senate race more of an uphill battle for Whatley.

“If people start getting frustrated with the pace of money coming into western North Carolina, the pace of roads getting fixed, and they start grumbling about the Trump administration, Whatley is going to get hurt that way. He’s going to get burned that way,” Thomas Mills, a former Democratic strategist in North Carolina, said.

Whatley’s role as recovery czar could help bolster his credibility in the state if he can point to some wins, said Jesse Hunt, a Republican strategist who worked on Richard Burr’s Senate campaign.

“Having some positive developments, things that you’re able to deliver to constituents in a time of need, is always helpful in the campaign trail,” he said.

Whatley’s campaign spokesperson Danielle Alvarez pointed to more than $6.5 billion in funds from several federal agencies made available to the state. “President Trump and Michael Whatley turned chaos into results — the kind of strong, decisive leadership North Carolina never saw under Roy Cooper and Joe Biden,” she said, accusing the Cooper of abandoning the state.

Cooper’s campaign made a similar accusation against Whatley. “Washington DC insider Michael Whatley went months without even stepping foot in Western North Carolina as federal FEMA recovery czar and hundreds of Western North Carolinians from both sides of the aisle have called for him to be replaced – eleven months into the job and it’s clear Whatley’s tenure is a failure,” Kate Smart, a spokesperson for the Cooper campaign, in said in a statement to NOTUS.

North Carolina Republicans have backed Whatley’s record as recovery czar. “I believe Michael Whatley has done a spectacular job in serving as a liaison between western North Carolina and the White House, and has certainly helped accelerate many of those payouts over the last several months,” said Rep. Chuck Edwards, who represents western North Carolina.

Hurricane recovery also may not be a potent political message for voters outside the western region, and it may not rise to a top statewide issue in this race, Wrenn said.

Democrats in the western part of the state, however, say they are going to talk about it as much as they can.

“It’s just one of those things where we have to make that connection,” said Kristen Robinson, chair of the Buncombe County Democratic Party, a blue dot in the red sea that is western North Carolina. “If folks hear ‘Whatley,’ they hear ‘Hurricane Helene czar that ain’t done nothing.’”

That connection is being reiterated by the state party as well.

“Because of Michael Whatley’s failure to do his job, communities across Western North Carolina have gone 11 months without the relief they were promised, don’t have functioning post offices in some areas, and are still waiting on roads and bridges to be repaired,” said Mallory Payne, a North Carolina Democratic Party spokesperson, in a statement.