Trump backs RNC's Whatley for NC's open U.S. Senate seat after Lara Trump declines to run

Michael Whatley — the Republican National Committee chairman who helped Donald Trump carry North Carolina in multiple elections — is expected to seek the GOP nomination for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat, people directly familiar with Whatley’s plans told WRAL.

Whatley hasn't formally announced his plans, but Trump issued a statement late Thursday offering his blessing.

"Mike would make an unbelievable senator from North Carolina. He is fantastic at everything he does," Trump said in a lengthy social media post that praised Whatley for supporting the president's policy priorities.

Trump added: "So, should Michael Whatley run for the Senate, please let this notification represent my complete and total endorsement. He will never let you down!"

A bid by Whatley, who led the North Carolina Republican Party for five years, would set up a likely battle between two political heavyweights in what is expected to be one of the most expensive U.S. Senate races in 2026. Former Gov. Roy Cooper is expected to announce his bid for the Democratic nomination in the coming days.

Trump's support could prove to be critical in a race against Cooper, who is undefeated in statewide elections and managed to win in years when Trump won the state’s electoral college votes.

Republicans are seeking to retain the seat that incumbent Republican U.S. Sen Thom Tillis will vacate at the end of his term. Democrats need to flip at least four seats during the 2026 elections to regain control of the chamber for the last two years of the Trump administration.

Tillis last month said he wouldn’t seek reelection after opposing Trump-backed legislation — the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill — because it would end Medicaid coverage for hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians. His opposition widened a rift between Tillis and Trump. After Trump said he would consider endorsing other Republicans for the seat, Tillis ended his reelection plans.

Former lieutenant governor candidate Andy Nilsson and former congressional candidate Don Brown have announced their intentions to seek the GOP nomination. However, Republicans had expected bigger names to seek the president’s blessing to enter the race.

GOP insiders told WRAL that Trump planned to endorse his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump — if she jumped in the race. Lara Trump, a Wilmington native who last year served as RNC co-chair, had been considering a run for the seat but announced Thursday morning that she had decided against it.

"I am deeply grateful for the encouragement and support I have received from the people of my home state whom I love so much," Lara posted on social media platform X. "While I am not running in this election, my passion for Making America Great Again burns brightly, and I look forward to the future, wherever that leads."

Whatley didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Lara Trump didn’t respond to messages seeking additional comment. A spokesperson for the RNC also didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

GOP insiders said they weren’t surprised by Lara Trump’s decision. She lives in Florida and would have to move back to the Tar Heel state to run for office. Less than a year ago, she turned down an opportunity to seek an open U.S. Senate seat in Florida after Trump picked then-U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio to be his secretary of state. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ultimately picked Ashley Moody, the state’s attorney general, to fill the seat vacated by Rubio.

About Whatley

While Whatley has never sought elected office, he has been an ally of the president for years and Republican insiders say he’s well-equipped to run for office because of his familiarity with the state and the GOP’s political apparatus in North Carolina. That could prove useful in next year’s elections. Historically, the political party that controls Washington struggles to generate turnout in midterm elections.

Whatley grew up in Watauga County and, as a high school student, volunteered for the late U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms' 1984 reelection campaign. He then began his professional career in politics as a legal advisor for the George W. Bush campaign, helping with the 2000 recount in Florida. He transitioned to the U.S. Department of Energy under Bush and then worked as chief of staff for former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, a North Carolina Republican, before going into the energy sector.

When Whatley returned to North Carolina in 2015, he was among the first Republicans to support Trump in the GOP primary. Whatley then served as an advisor to the Trump campaign while continuing to work primarily as an energy consultant until 2019, when he ran for chair of the state party.

During his time as the state party chair, Whatley helped the Republicans gain control of the state Supreme Court and state Court of Appeals and gain veto-proof supermajorities in the state House and the Senate. Trump also won North Carolina in 2016 and 2020 with the help of Whatley.

Party operatives have praised Whatley for stabilizing the state party after its former chairman, Robin Hayes, was indicted for lying to federal officials amid a bribery investigation. And Trump has credited Whatley for helping him carry North Carolina and re-take the presidency.

In a December social media post endorsing Whatley’s bid to remain RNC chair, Trump praised Whatley as a “smart, tough lawyer who put together a completely unprecedented election integrity operation” while organizing a get-out-the-vote campaign “that delivered the votes we needed in every battleground state.”

Expanding field

Nilsson and Brown, the other Republicans in the race, say they’re staying in.

Brown said he would’ve dropped out if Lara Trump entered the race, but plans to continue running because Whatley is “not a game changer” for the Republican field.

“Whatley’s name is still not Trump. I’m not convinced at this point that he’s the guy to take on Roy Cooper,” Brown said in a phone interviewy.

Nilsson also expressed doubts that Whatley could energize the Republican base, referring to the RNC chairman as an “establishment insider.”

“I am in this campaign for the grassroots,” Nilsson said. “If there is one thing we learned from Donald Trump it is that go-along, get-along politicians are not what America needs.”

The only Democrat officially in the race is former U.S. Rep Wiley Nickel, who also has a history of winning races in battlegrounds. In 2022, he beat Trump-endorsed Republican Bo Hines in the Republican-leaning 13th Congressional District. He told WRAL this week that he intends to stay in the race. On Thursday, he painted Whatley as a hard-line conservative for pushing right-wing policies without regard for working families. “Whatley wouldn’t represent North Carolina,” Nickel said in a statement. “He’d be a rubber stamp for Trump’s every whim.”

Many political observers see Cooper — who also has a long history of reaching voters across the aisle — as the strongest candidate for the Democrats, and possibly a favorite to win the general election.

Numerous internal GOP polls showed Tillis down at least 9 points in hypothetical head-to-head races against Democrats, WRAL previously reported. That in part is why Republicans have sought a Trump loyalist for the seat after Tillis publicly criticized the president’s agenda.

The Trump name has resonated with the party’s base in the state. Without Lara Trump in the race, Republican strategists see Whatley is seen as a fitting GOP substitute because he has vocally backed the president’s agenda. And the president would likely help him campaign, analysts say.

“They might not get Lara Trump,” said David McLennan, a political scientist at Meredith College in Raleigh. “They'll get a lot of Donald Trump, and that may be a good trade off for Michael Whatley.”

Cooper would have still been a favorite over Lara Trump due to his own name recognition and record of successful campaigns during years when Republicans won big, McLennan said. And the former governor would likely have an edge over Whatley, too, he said.

Whatley’s strength is as an insider — a strategist, a fundraiser — who has deep relationships with the party’s powerbrokers, McLennan said. But he doesn’t have experience as a candidate himself. “Cooper's a seasoned veteran with lots of connections, money, that sort of thing,” McLennan said. “So right now, if those are the two finalists for the Senate position, you'd have to say Cooper's a slight favorite in a very divided state.”

WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie contributed.