RNC Chair Whatley to run for North Carolina Senate seat with Trump’s support

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Michael Whatley is planning to run for Senate in North Carolina to succeed retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R), a source familiar confirmed to The Hill. 

The source said Whatley will run with President Trump’s blessing for the seat, confirming Politico, which first reported the news. The development comes after former RNC co-Chair Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, was openly considering a bid for the seat. Politico reported she has decided against a run.

Whatley’s candidacy tees up one of the marquee Senate races of the midterms, as former Gov. Roy Cooper (D) reportedly plans to jump in next week. Cook Political Report currently rates the seat as a “toss-up.”

Two people familiar with the decision told Politico that President Trump believes Whatley is in a strong position to face Cooper, a popular former two-term governor seen as Democrats’ best chance of winning the seat. They said Lara Trump will declare her support for Whatley and will appear with him soon, with a public announcement coming in the next week to 10 days.

While Whatley has never run for elected office before, he does have background in North Carolina politics. He is a former chief of staff for former Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) and served as chair of the North Carolina GOP for almost five years before being tapped by President Trump to become RNC chair.

A GOP operative told The Hill that Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the chair of Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, met with Whatley about a potential Senate bid, and the organization has been floating him as a possible replacement for Tillis since January. They said internal and public polling indicate a pro-Trump Republican would be in the strongest position for the party to hold the seat.

The decision from Tillis, a two-term incumbent viewed as somewhat more moderate and less closely tied to the president, to retire at the end of his term scrambled the field for the seat, which already was shaping up to be one of the most watched races of 2026. His seat and the one held by Sen. Susan Collins (R) in Maine are seen as the two best chances for Democrats to pick up seats next year.

But on the Republican side, Lara Trump appeared to have the “right of first refusal,” as one strategist put it, as she considered whether to run for the seat. She had previously considered a Senate run in 2022, as well as contending to be picked to fill Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Florida Senate seat last year, but she ultimately decided against both, not closing the door to a run entirely.

Lara Trump announced she would not seek the North Carolina seat in a post on the social platform X later Thursday, saying she made the decision after “much consideration and heartfelt discussions” with her family, friends and supporters.

“I am deeply grateful for the encouragement and support I have received from the people of my home state whom I love so much,” she said. “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.”

But with her passing on a Senate bid again, Whatley would be the big name in the race for the GOP, coming off of the party’s success in the 2024 presidential election. A few other possible candidates have been rumored to be considering bids, but receiving the president’s backing would certainly be a major boost for Whatley, if any other candidates compete.

Whatley winning the nomination would confirm what Tillis’s retirement made all but certain: Next year’s GOP candidate will be more closely tied to Trump than Tillis is.

It would likely set up a match between Whatley and Cooper in the general election. Axios reported Cooper is set to launch his Senate campaign next week, giving Democrats in the state and nationwide their desired candidate.

Democrats have seen much more success in recent years in gubernatorial races in North Carolina than federal races, having not won a Senate seat there since 2008. But the party is hopeful it can finally get over the hurdle with Cooper.

Senate Democrats’ campaign arm touted Lara Trump’s decision against running, saying the GOP is “facing the latest in a string of embarrassing recruitment failures as they lose their ‘first choice’ candidate.”

“While Republicans descend further into chaos in North Carolina, Democrats will flip this seat in 2026,” spokesperson Maeve Coyle said.

Brett Samuels contributed.

Updated at 12:03 p.m. EDT