Full Breakdown
Data-Center Ties Shape North Carolina’s Senate Contest
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event
Former Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley, the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate in North Carolina, and his family hold between $246,000 and $690,000 in energy-related investments tied to companies that supply services or equipment for data centers. The disclosures also list a $361,000 consulting payment from CAPCVentures LLC in 2025. The holdings have prompted scrutiny over whether Whatley could benefit from his public support for expanding data-center projects in the state.
Financial Holdings Overview
- Utility stocks: $149,000–$410,000 in Duke Energy and $80,000–$200,000 in Dominion Energy.
- Technology and equipment: $1,000–$15,000 in Arista Networks and $16,000–$65,000 in GE Vernova, a supplier of on-site gas turbines used by data-center operators.
- Consulting income: $361,000 from CAPCVentures LLC for services rendered in 2025, a firm that lists GE Vernova among its clients.
These figures come from Whatley’s federal financial disclosure and campaign-provided data.
Official Statements & Responses
Whatley’s campaign, represented by spokesperson DJ Griffin, asserts that the candidate backs the Stop Insider Trading Act and reforms requiring elected officials to place assets in qualified blind trusts.
The campaign contrasts this stance with that of Democratic opponent Roy Cooper, noting that Cooper previously supported tax exemptions for data-center projects under statutes enacted before his governorship.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Whatley supports the Stop Insider Trading Act and urges the U.S. Senate to pass the commonsense legislation, and supports commonsense reforms requiring elected officials to place their assets in qualified blind trusts, ensuring they have no control over how those assets are invested,” — DJ Griffin, a campaign spokesperson
- “Michael Whatley's standard is simple: data centers pay their own way, families pay nothing and communities decide. That means Big Tech builds or buys every megawatt it needs and covers every dime of the grid upgrades to deliver it, with zero costs shifted onto residential ratepayers. It means no special subsidies and no sweetheart deals cut over the heads of taxpayers,” — Griffin, a campaign spokesperson
- “Roy Cooper is the only candidate in this race who has used the powers of his elected office to recruit data centers to NC and to have them subsidized by NC Taxpayers,” — Griffin, a campaign spokesperson
These statements capture the central arguments from both campaigns as the race heads toward the November general election.
