Michael Whatley To Enter Blockbuster Senate Race After Lara Trump Passes On Run

Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman Michael Whatley will launch a bid for U.S. Senate, a source confirmed to the 🏢Daily Caller News Foundation.

Whatley, who was among a cohort of potential candidates mulling bids to replace retiring Republican North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, will enter the 2026 North Carolina Senate race with President Trump’s support, according to Politico, which first reported Whatley’s bid. The president’s endorsement of the RNC chairman will likely avoid a contested primary and give Republicans a boost to defeat former Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper in a showdown that could be the most expensive race of the midterms.

Whatley’s entry into the race follows the president’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, reportedly passing on a run. The president previously stated he would support Lara Trump, who co-chaired the RNC with Whatley during the 2024 cycle, if she had decided to seek the seat.

“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 Trump wrote in a post on the social media platform X Thursday announcing her decision to pass on the race. “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 will face Cooper, a two-term governor, who left office in January. Cooper is also likely to avoid a messy primary and is