Former Republican National Committee Chair and current North Carolina Senate candidate Michael Whatley told Newsmax that Democrat policies under former Gov. Roy Cooper have left the state vulnerable to violent crime, pointing to the recent killing of a Ukrainian refugee.
"It's incredible when you look back at Roy Cooper's tenure, everything that he did to be soft on crime, the fact that he actually put together a task force to reimagine law enforcement in North Carolina," Whatley, who is campaigning against Cooper to represent North Carolina in the U.S. Senate, said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "We don't need to reimagine law enforcement. We need to enforce the law."
Whatley urged current Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, to sign Iryna's Law, legislation passed by the Republican-controlled legislature after the stabbing of Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee killed on a train Aug. 22. The suspect, DeCarlos Brown Jr., had been arrested 14 times before the attack.
The legislation focuses on eliminating cashless bail for many crimes, while setting limits on the discretion that magistrates and judges have while determining pretrial releases.
"When we have people who have been arrested 14 times and released on the street, then bad things are going to happen," Whatley said. "And it is absolutely a travesty that this young lady happened to get on the wrong train car, happened to sit in the wrong seat, and get killed by this guy who should have never been on the streets in North Carolina."
He said he called lawmakers urging action, and the bill cleared the legislature within two days.
"The vice president having him here in North Carolina [was] absolutely fantastic ... I called them last week and said, you need to pass a law to roll back Roy Cooper's soft on crime policies," Whatley said. "And they immediately stood up. They got it done in two days. And now we need Josh Stein to sign that bill."
Whatley said public safety will be a centerpiece of his Senate campaign.
"The highest priority for the government is keeping its citizens safe. And Roy Cooper, through his weak-on-crime policies, his executive orders, did not protect this young lady. It set the scene where this could happen in North Carolina," he said.
He drew a sharp contrast with President Donald Trump, saying Trump is taking action to address crime nationally.
"President Trump is stepping up right now to protect Americans out in California from the riots in Washington, D.C. ... They're going into Memphis right now. He is going to fight to keep Americans safe," Whatley said. "I'm going to fight to keep North Carolinians safe. And Roy Cooper failed miserably as the governor of North Carolina."
Whatley also argued Democrats have not adjusted since their 2024 election defeat.
"The Democrats lost that election, both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, because they were soft on crime, because they were open borders, inflationary spending, a weak America party," he said. "And they have not learned a thing from 2024. They are doubling down on stupid right now all across this country."
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