Where’s Whatley? NC GOP Candidate Heads to Dallas While North Carolinians Struggle to Pay Energy Bills

Raleigh, NC  — This week, Trump and Republican candidates like Michael Whatley are holding their first-ever midterm national convention at the American Airlines Center in Dallas—a two-day, multi-million dollar pep rally branded “The Great American Comeback,” with no official party business on the agenda—other than hobnobbing with billionaire donors and avoiding the issue that’s actually top of mind for North Carolina families and all Americans, which is energy affordability and the cost of living. 

While families across the state struggle to pay for gas and to cool their homes, Republicans are spending two days and as much as $100,000 to attend the Dallas celebration. Trump and MAGA Republicans promised lower costs, then blocked the cheaper, American-made clean power that would have brought bills down, while handing the grid to data centers and letting Big Oil and monopoly utilities pass costs on to everyone else. North Carolina Senate candidate Michael Whatley has already profited up to $219,000 from his Big Oil investments that have soared since the Iran War. He has also taken $10,000 from Duke Energy’s PAC and he and his family had up to $445,000 invested in the monopoly utility. Additionally, Whatley has taken thousands from the Chemours chemical plant that is poisoning the Cape Fear River with forever chemicals. Whatley’s record reflects a focus on his Big Oil, monopoly utility, and corporate polluter donors, not the needs of everyday North Carolinians. 

Here are the facts you won’t hear from Michael Whatley and other Republicans this week:

• Between higher gas prices, utility bills, and tariffs, Trump has cost the average family an extra $2,000 since he took office.
• We just saw the highest Labor Day gas prices ever, with diesel also hitting an all-time high.
• The average family will pay nearly $800 in cooling costs by the end of the summer, up 10.5% from last year.
• Big Oil’s bottom line keeps getting bigger as they rake in $85.2 billion in profits in Q2 alone.
• Republicans caved to Trump’s demands by gutting affordable, American-made clean energy, paving the way for their ultra-wealthy oil and gas donors—who spent $450 million to elect Trump and influence Congress in the 2024 election cycle — to make even more money.  

Voters know that Republicans have rubber-stamped Trump’s every move, even if some want to distance themselves from him. Trump told Americans to pretend he’s on the ballot this November. He knows Republicans in Congress will keep rolling over for him, and voters do too.

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