Ukrainian Iryna Zarutska came to the U.S. to escape war in her home country, but was stabbed to death aboard a light rail train last month in Charlotte, North Carolina. (WBTV; EVGENIYA RUSH on GoFundMe)
"The blood of this innocent woman can literally be seen dripping from the killer’s knife, and now her blood is on the hands of the Democrats who refuse to put bad people in jail, including Former Disgraced Governor and ‘Wannabe Senator’ Roy Cooper," Trump charged in a social media post on Monday.
Trump argued that "North Carolina, and every State, needs LAW AND ORDER, and only Republicans will deliver it."
And the president reiterated his support for former Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley, who launched a Senate campaign in North Carolina with Trump's encouragement and endorsement.
Trump, referring to the slaying of Zarutska, claimed that Whatley "WON'T LET THIS HAPPEN AGAIN."
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Whatley, highlighting Trump's comments, charged in a social media post that his "far-left opponent Roy Cooper's spineless, soft-on-crime policies have unleashed predators like Decarlos Brown Jr. and countless other violent thugs who unleash hell on innocent people because they know they'll face no real justice."
And Whatley argued that "Democrat policies don't just fail—they endanger the lives of everyday Americans.
Then-Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat from North Carolina, speaks with reporters on Sept. 10, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Paul Steinhauser - Fox News )
Cooper's campaign called the attack "a heartbreaking, despicable act of evil" and accused Whatley of "lying again because he knows his support for federal policies that cut local and state law enforcement funding is wrong for North Carolina."
The campaign added that "Roy Cooper knows North Carolinians need to be safe in their communities; he spent his career prosecuting violent criminals and drug dealers, increasing the penalties for violence against law enforcement, and keeping thousands of criminals off the streets and behind bars."
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Even before the killing of Zarutska, Republicans had been aiming to characterize Cooper as a far-left Democrat. But beating Cooper, who has won statewide six times — four times as attorney general and twice as governor — won't be easy.
Cooper's campaign launch earlier this summer appeared to bolster the Democrats' chances of flipping a key GOP-held seat as they try to take a big bite out of the Republicans' 53–47 Senate majority.
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/charlotte-train-murder-front-and-center-crucial-2026-senate-battle-soft-on-crime-policies