Cooper supports targeted enforcement of immigration laws against people convicted of violent crimes, but opposes ICE mass raids, racial profiling, and unsupervised agent misconduct. He has publicly condemned the deaths of U.S. citizens at the hands of federal immigration agents and has suggested conditioning ICE funding on reforms and greater accountability mechanisms.

As governor, Cooper vetoed bills in 2019 and 2022 that would have required local jails to verify the immigration status of some inmates and cooperate with federal immigration agents. In 2022, he stated that the measure was unconstitutional and unnecessary under existing law.

Cooper supports strengthening the Affordable Care Act, including restoring federal subsidies for people who buy insurance through the Marketplace, and his campaign includes a broad list of system changes that he says will lower costs. These include requiring hospitals to participate in charitable care programs, ending surprise billing, and strengthening oversight of hospital mergers.

As governor, Cooper expanded the federal Medicaid program to include hundreds of thousands of state residents who previously earned too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid.

Affordability is the central theme of Cooper's Senate campaign; his slogan is “Make Stuff Cost Less”  (“Making things cost less”). In line with this, he has put forward proposals to reduce the cost of food, healthcare, housing, utilities, and other household expenses. His proposals include stricter regulation of various industries, incentives to build more homes, and a ban on companies using algorithms and consumer data to raise prices.

Most of Cooper's comments on inflation focus on the cost of living, although he has also attributed rising prices to tax cuts, tariffs, and the war in Iran initiated by President Trump.

Cooper has championed increased funding for public schools, including salary increases for teachers and school staff, as well as greater availability of preschool (pre-K) programs. He has opposed the use of public funds to finance school vouchers for private schools, calling them an “irresponsible waste” of taxpayer money.

As governor, Cooper proposed salary increases for teachers, though not all were approved by the Republican-controlled General Assembly or included in the final budget. In 2023, he used his platform to declare an unofficial “state of emergency” for public education in order to draw attention to the issue.

Cooper's campaign has highlighted his record on job creation, but it lacks detailed policy proposals specifically to protect workers in the agricultural or construction sectors. While he has the backing of labor organizations like the AFL-CIO, he generated discontent among unions when, as governor, he signed a 2017 farm law that prevented farms from being required to collect union dues from unionized workers and transfer that money to the union.

Cooper has publicly acknowledged the dangers that extreme heat poses to workers, especially in construction. However, as governor, he did not establish mandatory regulations to protect workers from extreme heat, nor has he publicly endorsed OSHA's federal heat safety standard.

Cooper's campaign doesn't have a section specifically dedicated to regulating artificial intelligence, but it has addressed two of its consequences: the use of algorithms to set prices and rents, and the impact of AI data centers on utility costs. His platform proposes prohibiting companies and landlords from using algorithms and consumer data to set food prices and rents, as well as requiring data centers to pay the full cost of the electricity they consume. In July, he did not respond to a question from Spectrum News 1 about whether he would support a moratorium on the construction of new data centers.

As governor, the North Carolina Department of Information Technology, under his administration, issued an administrative framework to regulate the responsible use of artificial intelligence by the state government, including transparency requirements and human oversight.

Housing is a key part of Cooper's main campaign platform, "Make Stuff Cost Less." It proposes lowering prices by increasing the housing supply, including through incentives to build more multifamily and modular homes, and by streamlining the permitting process. He also supports banning the use of algorithms to set rents—a practice proven to drive up prices—and restricting large corporations and investment funds from accumulating large portfolios of single-family homes for rent.

As governor, Cooper proposed increasing state investment in programs that help low-income people buy homes, subsidize rent for workers, and create more rental units for low-income seniors.

Whatley has expressed full support for President Donald Trump’s approach to immigration, including “combating illegal immigration” as a top campaign priority. In November 2025, he praised immigration enforcement operations in Charlotte for taking “murderers, rapists, and pedophiles” off the streets, although the government later acknowledged that most of those arrested had no criminal record.

He has not commented publicly on the recent deaths of civilians at the hands of ICE agents, nor has he advocated for greater accountability measures.

Whatley has emphasized his support for a return to what he calls “market-driven solutions” for health care, blaming the Affordable Care Act for rising prices nationwide. He was a strong supporter of the Trump-backed law known as “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which cut Medicaid and imposed new work requirements for accessing the program. A Whatley spokesperson claimed the cuts would only affect “illegal immigrants, people fraudulently receiving benefits in multiple states, and healthy adults between the ages of 19 and 64 who don’t want to look for work.” Last year, Whatley praised Senate Republicans for blocking the extension of tax breaks intended to lower the cost of health insurance for many people who buy it through the federal marketplace.

Whatley has also focused his campaign on the cost of living. His economic platform, called “America First Economy,” presents this issue as dependent on affordable energy and reduced government spending.

During Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, Whatley blamed then-President Joe Biden's economic policies for rising prices. As a Senate candidate, he has promised to reduce "job-destroying regulations" and lower taxes. He supported Trump's tariffs and highlighted provisions in the "One Big Beautiful Bill" that reduce taxes for some taxpayers, including workers who rely on tips and overtime pay.

Whatley's campaign website only mentions education in the context of keeping "woke ideology out of schools." Throughout the campaign, he has expressed support for public schools while advocating for a federal tax credit for donations to scholarship organizations. He stated that he believes "education money should follow students," regardless of whether they choose to attend a private, public, charter school, or be homeschooled.

Whatley's campaign talks about empowering American workers and creating good-paying jobs, but it doesn't elaborate on those proposals. When it has addressed agriculture, it has generally focused on helping farm owners through lower taxes, fewer regulations, favorable trade policies, and cheaper energy.

Whatley's campaign makes no mention of artificial intelligence. However, when responding to a question from Spectrum News 1 in July about whether he supported a moratorium on data centers, he framed the issue primarily as a matter of economic competition with China. “We need to make sure we are going to be leaders when it comes to AI, but data centers cannot become a burden on local communities,” he said.

Whatley has also acknowledged using artificial intelligence in his campaign. After receiving criticism, he stated that a social media post he made in June to support the Carolina Hurricanes was generated with AI and that “it wasn’t a big deal.”

Whatley has adopted a market-oriented approach to housing, supporting the construction of more homes and the reduction of regulatory barriers. On social media, he has blamed Democratic policies for rising mortgage interest rates and for creating regulatory hurdles that make construction slow and expensive.

Bray's campaign website lists immigration as one of its main issues. He supports securing the border, enforcing existing immigration laws, and streamlining legal immigration.

Bray's campaign argues that healthcare decisions should remain between patients and their doctors, not in the hands of the federal government. His campaign website supports repealing "top-down federal healthcare mandates," though it doesn't specify which ones. He also wants to expand Health Savings Accounts and increase price transparency.

Bray's campaign describes inflation as "a hidden tax," which he says can be reduced through greater transparency and oversight of the country's monetary policy. He supports limiting federal spending to slow the growth of the national debt, eliminating corporate subsidies, and simplifying the tax code.

Bray's campaign platform includes reducing federal control over education and placing greater emphasis on technical and skills-based training. It also highlights "parental choice," though it doesn't specify whether that includes supporting an expansion of voucher programs for private schools.

Bray's campaign focuses on reducing government intervention in businesses as a way to promote job growth, but it doesn't mention specific protections for workers. His only concrete proposal is to streamline the permitting process and make occupational licenses more transferable across jurisdictions, which could lower barriers for some workers and boost construction growth.

As a cybersecurity professional, Bray has a detailed technological platform. His most extensive proposal argues that individuals should own their own data and presents a draft public policy to enforce that principle, even when the data is used to train artificial intelligence systems. He also opposes mass surveillance without probable cause, which could apply to AI-powered camera systems.

Bray's campaign platform does not include a specific section on housing, but he generally supports private ownership and less government regulation. In 2020, when he ran for the U.S. Senate, he told The INDY that providing housing for veterans was one of his top three legislative priorities.

Dublin supports the elimination of ICE, the closure of immigrant detention centers, and an end to deportations. On his campaign website, he calls for the “immediate and unconditional legalization” of all undocumented immigrants. From a broader criminal justice perspective, he supports the arrest of law enforcement officers who commit homicide.

Dublin has publicly stated that he will oppose any cuts to Medicare or Medicaid and instead wants to “substantially” increase those benefits. His campaign website states that he supports “free, high-quality health care for all, including gender-affirming treatment and mental health services.”

Dublin's campaign presents affordability as part of a "fair and sustainable economy." It supports raising taxes on the wealthiest individuals, establishing government-run hospitals to provide free healthcare for everyone, and implementing universal rent control. To help families manage their expenses, it proposes raising the federal minimum wage to $25 an hour and establishing price controls to combat inflation.

Dublin's campaign proposes reducing US military spending and allocating those resources to priorities such as public education. Dublin is a recently retired public school teacher.

The Dublin campaign has put forward proposals to protect all workers, not just those in agriculture or construction. These include a $25 minimum wage, a 32-hour workweek, 12 months of paid parental leave, and a guaranteed pension. It supports unions and argues that labor organizations should form “deportation defense committees in every workplace.”

The Dublin campaign website makes no mention of artificial intelligence, but the candidate has said he would support a moratorium on data center construction. He also opposes the use of Flock cameras, an advanced surveillance technology that uses artificial intelligence.

Dublin's campaign proposes reducing US military spending and redirecting those resources to priorities such as affordable housing. It supports universal rent control and guaranteed access to housing in every zip code.